


WDG-0 A: 4R-15-T4

by UltimateGamer101



Series: I Guess You Could Say It's... UnderVoidable. [1]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Errortale, Alternate Universe - Horrortale, Alternate Universe - Inktale, Alternate Universe - Outertale, Alternate Universe - Underfell, Alternate Universe- Aftertale, Alternate Universe- Christmas Party AU, Alternate Universe- Dancetale, Alternate Universe- Dreamtale, Alternate Universe- Echotale, Alternate Universe- Handplates, Alternate Universe- Mobtale, Alternate Universe- Reapertale, Alternate Universe- SwapFell, Alternate Universe- UnderFresh, Alternate Universe- UnderPatch, Alternate Universe- UnderTone, Alternate Universe- Underswap, Alternate Universe- Undertale, Gen, I Serve Feels for Breakfast, Multi, Other, Reader Is A Skeleton, Reader Knows Too Much, Reader has a Name (sorry), Reader is Pretty Powerful, Somebody Told Me to Include Tags for Universes so I'mma Do That, Sorry Not Sorry, The Multiverse is Lonely, There Prolly Won't Be Smut, There Will Be No Bone-Zone (Except maybe in UnderLust?), knowledge is power, reader is female
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-12
Updated: 2017-10-02
Packaged: 2018-09-23 21:28:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 59
Words: 88,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9678716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UltimateGamer101/pseuds/UltimateGamer101
Summary: You, dear reader, are a female skeleton. To be precise, one of the only female skeletons in the Multiverse. (No, you unfortunately hadn't encountered any other versions of yourself.) Your body was formed from the dust of a failed T4-series experiment and the bones of a deceased human child, and given a soul by the power of human soul shards and determination.Soon, two more experiments were created. WDG-1 S and WDG-2 P. That is what their handplates said. WDG-0 A. That is what your handplate said. You named them Sans and Papyrus, and they named you Arista. Together, the three of you were siblings standing strong beneath the cold scientist that created you.When a test was drawn up that was going to kill one of your brothers, you made the decision that changed your life. You helped them escape using your unsteady magic, and attained the scars of a terrible punishment; undergoing the test that was intended for your brother.It was... a success.And you were all alone.





	1. Once Upon a Time

**Author's Note:**

> Quick disclaimer that I don't own Undertale or any of the AU's in this story, excluding my own. I'll update this note with any relevant info as the story goes on. Keep an eye out for future notes pointing back to this one.
> 
> AU Ownership~  
> Undertale- Toby Fox  
> Handplates- Zarla Sheenaza  
> SwapFell- *community created / multiple creators*  
> DanceTale- teaandstars  
> UnderTone- articray200  
> Mobtale / UT Mob- nyublackneko  
> Christmas Party AU- loverofpiggies / Crayon Queen  
> Aftertale- loverofpiggies / Crayon Queen  
> UnderPatch- borurou  
> Inktale- comyet / Myebi  
> UnderFresh- loverofpiggies / Crayon Queen  
> Errortale- loverofpiggies / Crayon Queen  
> UnderSwap- popcornpr1nce  
> Echotale- yoralim  
> Dreamtale- jokublog  
> Reapertale- renrink  
> Horrortale- sour-apple-studios  
> UnderFell- *community created / multiple creators*  
> Outertale- 2mi127
> 
> Other Ownership~  
> Paperjam- 7goodangel  
> Omni- CereusBlue

_Once upon a time,_

_In a land where trees abound,_

_There thrived the home of monsters-_

_Trapped beneath the ground._

 

_Once upon a time,_

_In the monster home unnamed,_

_There was a scientist-_

_His very existence famed._

 

_Once upon a time,_

_In his labs so dark and gray,_

_There were experiments run-_

_Of which none would say._

 

_Once upon a time,_

_In a solution that was blue,_

_A skeleton body was born-_

_This success was new._

 

_Once upon a time,_

_In this empty skeletal husk,_

_A created soul was placed within-_

_It opened its eyes at dusk._

 

_Once upon a time,_

_In a fit of tragedy and despair,_

_The monster kingdom lost its hope-_

_Two children dead, unfair._

 

_Once upon a time,_

_In the lab so dark and cruel,_

_The scientist made two more mistakes-_

_They became the first's to rule._

 

_Once upon a time,_

_In a place where hope didn't die,_

_The first skeleton helped the others-_

_The two escaped the place they'd cry._

 

_Once upon a time,_

_In the lab she'd left behind,_

_The first was caught and punished-_

_The scientist was anything but kind._

 

_Once upon a time,_

_In a place outside of reach,_

_The first found herself far from home-_

_The Void had been breached._

 


	2. In the Mind of a Wanderer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We catch a glimpse of your situation and your thoughts upon it.

Within this place of infinite darkness, screaming would not help.

Still, as you recalled, it was the very first thing you'd done. When that experiment had gone horribly wrong- horribly _right_ \- your magic had gone beyond your usual control, tearing and peeling back reality at the seams. You'd strained to pull back, to pull away from the darkness that faced you, but the action had only served to pull you into the tear. Thus was your introduction to the Void, the emptiness you traversed only to find new timelines and universes that weren't your own.

Unfortunately, it seemed that you were the only multiversal traveller; or it was simply the fact that you'd never encountered another that made you believe so. Either way, it gave you the self-appointed responsibility of keeping track of all the places you'd been, finding and memorizing every secret you could encounter, and leaving records in hidden places that you could reliably return to. You did this duty with all the curiosity befitting of a scientist, but it was a mere distraction from the misery within your soul.

So long had you been exploring these timelines and universes in search of your own. So many centuries you had spent within the Void, with only a few years worth of breaks and exploration out and about the Multiverse itself. Such a vast amount of aimless roaming you had done, merely in search of your own home, ending in negative results each and every time.

Sometimes you wondered what your purpose was. Indeed, it wasn't like people were often universally displaced for no reason, let alone one with the 'failed experiment' label that you came with.

Yeah, that was another thing you spent a lot of time pondering. From your travels, you'd gathered that you were the only you in existence- or you'd simply never encountered another you, but that was beside the point. The multiverse had so many versions of your brothers and friends, that _of course_ there should be other versions of _you_ within easy reach, but there never were. Granted, your home universe was a rather unique one...

But enough of that. You'd spent too much time thinking. You needed to get moving, to prepare yourself for another attempt at getting home.

Jumping directly from universe to universe was easier than it sounded, the way you did it. In fact, any Sans could probably do so as well, considering that he was the one famous for the shortcut ability. Fortunately however, for his own sake and the sakes of his passengers, his shortcuts never ended directly in the Void. He was always careful enough to pull twice through the rips he created in space, never once.

You had pulled once, while on that table. You had pulled yourself from point A into the Void without giving yourself a point B to reach; thus you were left with the Void by default. While within the Void, you could pull once again, and it would bring you to a point B that was entirely random as to the universe and timeline. Highly dangerous- one time you'd ended up several meters over lava in Hotland, saved only by the nearby UnderSwap Papyrus who'd seen you falling- but it gave you the chance to go where you couldn't go otherwise. It gave you the chance to find your home.

Today- you measured by days, despite time not truly existing in the Void- the moment had arrived in which you'd decided to search once more. It was time for you to pull yourself from the infinite, chilly darkness once more, and step into the light of some universe and timeline that was probably unexplored. There was nothing left to lose- besides your questionable existence- thus it was onwards you would go!

Reaching forth, you grasped the edge of the darkness with your magic, and _pulled_...


	3. There Was Pain and Destruction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to your first universe! Come in and take a seat~

Oh.

Oh dear.

You'd forgotten how bright and disorienting it was to step into actual existence after spending a prolonged amount of time within the Void.

Fortunately, you hadn't landed anywhere dangerous. That is, if you considered the rooftop of Grillby's to be safe, of course.

Looking around, you began your scouting for context clues that would tell you which universe you were in. There was no bloodstained snow, so it wasn't Horrortale. There weren't any glowing, questionable stains and fluids lying about, so it wasn't UnderLust. The snow did carry a very dusty sheen to it... perhaps it was a Fell universe. However, the town was rather empty even for UnderFell, so you'd need to find the human in order to determine more.

That was the way it usually was. Check the environment; if no conclusion, then check the human. Check the human; if no conclusion, then check the skeletons. These universes really liked to center around the humans and the skeletons, for some strange reason you couldn't bring yourself to question.

Climbing down from the rooftop of Grillby's, you peeked inside the bar and felt a wince cross your skeletal features. It was empty, and the reflection of you in your fur-lined cloak was the only being visible in the glass. Fortunately, your hood obscured your face, so you didn't need to see the sorrow rounding out your eyelights.

This was a Genocide timeline.

You took a moment to honor the fallen monsters- even though they likely weren't yours, they still deserved to be respected in death- before continuing on down the path. The snow crunched beneath your solemn footsteps, small clouds of dust swirling in the wake of your cloak as you passed the vacant home of the skeleton brothers.

Soon the crunch of snow gave way to the plitter-pat of walking in puddles, a more welcomed sound to your ease of mind. Dust was- like snow- crunchy when trodden upon, and the pleasant humidity of Waterfall replaced that crunchy quality with a squishy one. The Amalgamates were very squishy, and dust colored- thus it was simply easier to pretend that the dust was an Amalgamate trail instead of the dead body of someone you could've known in another universe.

Ahead of you- a child in a striped shirt running towards you... The stripes were yellow and brown. Monster Kid, approaching as you reached the area Papyrus would typically give his report.

"Mister, or Miss, Undyne is fighting the human! She didn't look good, she might need help!"

You dipped your hood in acknowledgement, and silently gestured towards Snowdin, indicating that the child should get home quickly. It seemed they got the message, or they just wanted to make sure you'd help, as they sprinted off after watching you continue onwards. At least the child had given you a helpful context clue- it wasn't a Swap or Shift universe.

The trek would be too long if you wanted to see Undyne fighting the human. Fortunately, you had enough magic to perform a teleportation- similar to a shortcut, but quicker and more energy efficient, as its boundaries were within the universe itself. Thus it was a simple matter to blink your sockets and observe the battle from a ledge above the bridge...

Undyne was almost dead. She was in her Undying form, chest heaving with exertion and clothes tattered by sharp slipper slashes, on her last HP. As you watched, that HP was drained in the final blow, and the true heroine of the Underground melted away.

"This world will go on...!"

Indeed it will... again, and again, and again... until the human child tires of it.

The human. Their striped sweater was blue and magenta, and their features were as neutral as ever as they turned and stalked onwards. This pointed towards the universe being a Classic variant, which meant it was a universe that could possibly be your own.

You had to find Sans.

Blinking your sockets, you teleported to the Judgement Hall, stumbling slightly upon the landing. You'd never gotten the hang of exact teleportation, and probably never would, as the ever-so-slightly imprecise landing was a result of your unstable magic. That'd ended up with your cloak stuck in the walls or floors a few times, but eventually you'd learned to give yourself roughly a twelve inch radius of open space around you.

Taking a few steps forward, you felt the presence of another being, and stared forward as Sans came forth from the shadows. He didn't look happy... probably thought you were the human.

"heh... so it's all come down to this, eh kid? what happened to that happy ending on the surface you'd promised me? are promises really worth so little? welp... guess it's time to break my promise."

Scratch that... he definitely thought you were the human.

"Actually, there is no promise for you to break that applies to me. I am not human, nor did I come through the Ruins door- thus you have no promise that applies to me."

The skeleton looked shocked for a moment, before narrowing his sockets in suspicion.

"then why are you here? you should be evacuating with the others. surely you know about the dangerous human running around, if you know about the promise i made..."

A soft sigh whistled through your teeth as you began to approach Sans-

You ducked quickly, dodging the knife slash that came your way from behind, and turned around. The human child stood there, an expression of wicked curiosity upon their face as they observed your presence and made another slash. You dodged again in a manner reminiscent of the skeleton standing behind you, and glared at the child.

"Rude. Didn't Toriel ever teach you not to interrupt the conversations of others? Or is Chara just that bad of an influence?"

You dodged another strike, and drew yourself to your full height- still smaller than Blueberry Sans, sigh- in a poise of steel.

"I've always had a soft spot for children. Unfortunately for you, that doesn't mean you're not going to be punished for being bad..."

The world darkened as the battle magic descended, the child's soul brought forth as they stepped forward to challenge you. The skeleton behind you watched attentively from against a pillar, no doubt just as eager as the kid to see what sort of magic this monster anomaly could wield...


	4. But Nobody Came

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Fite me, Helen!" and other relevant phrases.  
> You fight the child. The child fights back.

The human charged towards you, their knife held high before they swung decisively. One could practically taste the determination in the air as it traced its path towards your neck... but you avoided it, leaning backwards and planting your gloved hands against the ground to maneuver through a backflip. As your feet approached the ground, it became apparent that your cloak was shrinking to form a hooded shawl, revealing the rest of your clothes as it did so.

Upon your feet were black combat boots, laced with black ribbons instead of ordinary shoelaces. They clomped against the floor with chilling finality as you landed steadily upon them, avoiding the human's attack. 

Despite the black and white diagonally-striped leggings you wore, you were far from a child. These were, unfortunately, the only clothes you had, and they'd survived the centuries in the Void quite spectacularly. It was quite probable that Sans thought you were a kid now, judging by the gasp you heard behind you, or perhaps it was simply a reaction to the human trying to attack you again.

"Ah-ah-ah... it's not your turn, kid. But I guess I should give you the option to accept my mercy, much like my youngest brother always does during a Genocide timeline. I strongly suggest you accept it..."

The black, puffy, knee-length skirt and long flowing sleeves of your lolita style dress swished together as you spun away from another strike, a giggle escaping the darkness of your hood as you observed the child's eagerness.

"A shame. Just look out these windows at the life you're wasting. The flowers are in bloom, as the birds so tell..."

A single stomp upon the floor was the trigger for your primary special attack- a narrow maze of illusory mirrors that reflected damage back upon the attacker. It was primarily a delay tactic- an attack that lasted until the maze was solved without taking damage- one you intended upon milking for all it was worth in order to speak with Sans.

"A beautiful day to be burning in hell... wouldn't you agree? Now be a good little human and don't interrupt my conversation again."

Turning your back upon the fight, you regarded the stocky skeleton standing nearby, and tilted your head slightly. You couldn't recall where you'd been in discussion...

"Where were we before the kid interrupted us? I may have forgotten."

Sans seemed to be looking you over thoroughly, probably assessing whether you were a threat to him or not, but he still answered.

"i was asking you why you hadn't evacuated with the rest."

Behind you, a mirror shattered as the child attacked it, and the maze subtly rearranged itself around them. You bounced on your heels a bit in apparent cheerfulness as you responded to his question.

"Ah! That's because I don't live in this universe, as far as I know. You might be my Sans, but it's more likely that you're not. I'm only interfering because I need to know this... Tell me, who is Gaster to you?"

A frustrated cry rang out behind you as the child ran into another dead end, and you giggled in response. Sans took this in with a slightly uncomfortable expression before deciding how to answer.

"well-"

The answer was cut off by a victorious screech and a swipe of the blade. You stumbled forward, barely avoiding the edge as it arced for your spine, and turned to face the child with folded arms.

"Trying to cut me spineless so I'll go away, are you? Sorry kid, but you marrowly missed it."

Unfolding your arms, you seemed to pull a sword of bone from the space between your sleeved elbow and corseted ribcage, holding the hilt firmly in your dominant hand. With a flourish and a twirl, you began your second special attack, slicing a spiral of white attack magic horizontally around the child before stabbing the blade into the ground at the center of it. The sword shattered, and the pieces flew outwards through the walls of the spiral, forcing the human to move within the spiral quickly to avoid being hit.

Unfortunately for them, they weren't familiar with this attack, and got hit by several shards. You smirked with satisfaction, watching them reach for their food as their health dropped low... and you attacked once more, sending out a mobile maze of bone to force them to move towards the beginning of the hall. Sans seemed to take the opportunity to continue his interrupted response.

"well, nobody remembers him. he got scattered across time and space when he fell into his creation. i kinda remember him though, in the vaguest sense that he was always cold and preoccupied. why?"

Hope flared in your soul as you heard this, and you sent a wave of bones towards the healing child to keep them busy.

"Tell me, did you ever have a metal plate on your-"

The human child tripped behind you, falling into the wave of incoming bones with a screech of rage and pain. You turned quickly, expecting an attack, and could only watch as the child's body went limp beneath their soul.

...

The sensation of the LOAD was like that of glass.

As you stood so close to its source- the human soul, floating above the body at 0 HP- it was incredibly violent as well, almost as painful as that of a RESET.

First your body began to destabilize, cracks forming in your bones and dust whipping loose as your clothes began to tear at the seams. Your sockets burned as you gazed through the hall for your companion in this storm, your hood threatened to fall as you found him. A gloved hand brought up remedied that, the metal of your handplate gleaming through its unraveled seams in the golden light of the hall.

The pain of splitting apart intensified as you recognized the expression within Sans' eyelights, curiosity shining through his own pain as he beheld the metal affixed to your carpals, but no recognition present in his sockets.

It wasn't your Sans...

As the LOAD continued, your body splintered apart in sync with the human's soul, shattering into a pile of broken pieces that were frozen in the air as time came to a stop. The piercing pain gradually faded as your soul lost connection with your body, an eternity spent in a state without awareness before you finally began to feel again.

Time resumed, a glorious warmth flooding your senses as the shattered pieces of your body began to melt together at the seams. The warmth grew and grew, until it was burning you alive, determination flooding through your marrow as the human soul exuded it in powerful waves. A scream welled up deep inside you, but you couldn't take the breath necessary to release it, thus the pressure continued to build alongside the heat... until everything froze.

The human soul vanished, and a wave of freezing energy pulsed outwards, draining the heat like a campfire in the midst a blizzard. Just like that, your body was reformed, and you were standing with your back towards the human as you had been before the fight began.

The LOAD was complete, and disheartened by the lack of recognition in Sans' eyelights, you teleported away behind a pillar.

Tears threatened to fall beneath the pressure of your grief, the failure to find your home hitting harder with how utterly _close_ you had been. It'd been decades since you'd found a universe this close to your own, decades! Why couldn't it have been the one, just this once!?

You mourned the loss of another try, and finally turned your attention to the other occupants of the hall.

Sans was sweating, his head drooping as the exhaustion in his bones weighed him down. The human sat before him, a mockingly patient smile upon their face as they watched him succumb to the siren call of sleep. Suddenly, you recalled what this moment meant, and flung yourself from your hiding spot. This wasn't _your_ Sans, but he was still a Sans, dammit! You could save him again, you could-

The child's blade struck true, and you froze in place, watching the stocky skeleton before you stand up and stumble towards the light... They smiled at you, raising their blade, but you simply turned and _pulled_ at the edge of reality, leaving behind the Genocide timeline with an expression of stone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the story, my friends! Leave a comment below to vote for an AU to be visited! It can be any AU you please, _aaaany~_ x3


	5. In the Midst of a Hope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You try to follow the rules.

Ahh...

You had forgotten the most important rule you'd made for yourself...

_Do not interfere_.

Visiting another timeline would be prudent, if you really wanted to remind yourself of that little rule. (You didn't want to, but it was a necessary lesson to be learnt.) Thus, with an expression of reluctance, you pulled through reality and stepped into a new universe that was...

Dusty.

Very, very dusty. This was either a Genocide timeline, or a Fell universe.

You had arrived in the Ruins, beside the blackened tree that stood before Classic Toriel's home. A sound of surprise drew your attention to the child standing behind you, and the goatlike monster beside them.

Chara and Asgore. This was a Swap universe. The lack of dust upon the child's body indicated that the previously noticed dust piles had been killed by another monster. That along with the lack of human blood spattered about indicated that this was very likely a Fell universe as well. SwapFell?

Asgore looked about ready to kill you for simply looking at his adopted child. While that would've been an interesting battle, you were relieved when the child ran forth and hugged you- a deliberate act of protection and perhaps curiosity. Your small stature made you stand a few inches shorter than the child, and the cloak protecting your features perhaps made you seem like a friend or sibling to them...

Eh, it was as good a cover as any.

"Ah, there you are! I was worried about you..."

You bounced in place as the child spoke, turning up the bubbly side of your charms to look cuter. It was something you'd learned as a child which protected you from much harm...

_If you look cute, monsters won't hit you as hard._

"Aw, I just wanted to see what was ahead! You know how I get when I'm cooped up..."

You improvised cheerfully, playing along with the scenario Chara had set up. The goat monster appeared more curious than combative now, and placed a firm hand upon the child's shoulder in a deliberate display of possession.

"My child, you didn't tell me you had any friends with you...? Who is this?"

The question was directed towards Chara, but you answered for them, as they wouldn't know your name.

"Arista, sir! It's nice to meet you!"

You pretended childlike innocence and wonder with the acting skill that the centuries gone by had given you... It was actually rather fun. Roleplaying was almost always entertaining.

A throaty laugh escaped the male goat monster, and you withdrew from the hug Chara held you in, but didn't cut all contact with her. You kept your hand in hers, and squeezed it once to show a polite appreciation for saving you the trouble of fighting him.

...

Before you knew it, the two of you were ushered into Asgore's home, and shown to a place that you recognized as the children's bedroom. As the former King left the room and locked the door, you turned to face Chara, and got yourself ready for questions. She certainly seemed to be analyzing you in the timeline-relevant sense... a calculative gleam in her ruby eyes... which made sense. Hehe.

Surprisingly, she didn't ask any questions- simply held out her hand and introduced herself.

"My name's Chara. Sweetness like the kind you showed earlier is gonna get you killed around here."

Your grin widened within the darkness of your cloak, and you accepted her hand-

_Bzzzt-!_

The non-lethal joybuzzer was a success. 

The human child stared at you with either thickly disguised disgust or thinly disguised awe, and you restrained yourself from giggling. You'd learned that harmless pranks were always good for breaking the ice, and if it gave the child the idea that you were harmless as well? That wasn't any problem at all.

A knock on the door interrupted the introduction, and it was unlocked and opened to allow Asgore to peek in.

"Ah, my children, the tea is ready. Come to the table before it gets cold."

The command drenched in pleasantries somewhat sullied your mood, but you followed Chara to the table without complaint, peering into the oddly grey tea.

_He had probably put dust in it._

The human didn't seem to be happy about it either, and began to ask about the exit. You sat back and watched her do her usual thing, discussing the dangers of the rest of the Underground, before finally the goat-dad snapped and stomped downstairs. Chara followed, leaving behind her full cup of tea, and you hastily did the same. The following battle was one you didn't want to miss.

...

Chara dodged brilliantly. It was evident that this was a later timeline, given the sheer skill in avoidance that the child possessed, and how quickly she calmed the enraged Asgore. Tears were shed by the goat monster before your indifferent diamond eyelights, and soon the two of you were on your way out the door. It had been... almost boring to watch.

The cold breeze of the Snowdin area whipped your cloak flush against your body. Glancing over, you noticed a similar thing occurring with Chara, except she was also shivering.

That's right. You're a skeleton- the wind just goes right through you.

"If you're cold, you can use me as a heater. It's no skin off my bones."

The child accepted your offer faster than you'd expected her too, almost immediately latching onto your cloaked body. A sneaky hand slid inside the cloak to wrap around the back of your ribcage, and you huffed in amusement, not worried about her finding anything suspicious in there as she warmed herself.

"Cute. Perhaps I shall just carry you if you're that cold?"

The expression she gave you was worth it.

"How can you carry me!? You're smaller than me!"

She couldn't see it, but she could certainly hear it- a playful pout had crossed your face and affected the tone of your voice as you responded.

"I'm not small, Chara dear, I'm fun-sized! And I'll have you know that ants can carry several times their body weight, so why can't I?"

You swiftly brought an arm forth, sweeping it behind her knees to throw off her balance and cause her to lean her weight into your chest. As you brought up that arm- still behind her knees- your other arm settled firmly across her upper back, the two lifting in tandem to bring the child up in a bridal-style hold. The way she hugged your ribcage made it somewhat awkward, but you managed, and startled laughter escaped her lips as you began walking down the path.

"Holy shit, you really can carry me, how are you this strong?"

Stepping over a thick branch, you continued down the path, ignoring the loud _snap_ you heard moments later in favor of answering the human child.

"Never skip leg day, my dear. And drink lots of milk- it's good for your bones."

Approaching a small bridge, you heard footsteps behind you, and the danger of this universe was brought back to the forefront of your mind. The carefree attitude was pushed to the side in favor of listening to the approaching monster... and turning around to face him, with Chara still held in your arms.

"huh... you're new."


	6. There Were Only Two Complaints

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Complaint 1: Fuck you, Papyrus

Now. I know what you're thinking. You're thinking that wow, you really suck at following the most important rule you'd made for yourself, right? Well, you're absolutely correct.

That didn't mean you didn't _try_ to follow it. Just that you were... often distracted, or oddly hopeful.  
It's a shame you could never truly get that lesson through your head- times like this one, with a skeleton staring you down like you'd killed their firstborn child and offered them up as dinner later that evening, really occurred too often for comfort.

Setting Chara down, you immediately stepped back to establish some space between yourself and the wiry skeleton gazing down at you, allowing the kid to remain in front of you. She could handle herself just fine; you'd seen her do so in countless timelines and universes, no matter the body she was in, nor the gender she identified as. Chara was a badass, and you had absolutely no shame in using her as a shield.

"New, you say... Perhaps I am, perhaps I am not. What is it to you?"

Aggression is good in a universe like this. It shows that you don't take shit from anybody, and gives off the vibe that the only people who fuck with you are suicidal or crazy. You'd cultivated several careful masks of varying cuteness and aggression for use in these violent universes alone, and they served you well... except when you were up against the skeleton brothers.

They always managed get _under your skin_ eventually.

"PAPYRUS!! WHERE ARE YOU, YOU MUTT!? YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE AT YOUR STATION APPROXIMATELY FOUR HOURS AND THIRTEEN MINUTES AGO!!"

Oh boy. Here we go.

The sweatshirt-clad skeleton before you sweatdropped, and quickly picked you and Chara up by the scruffs of your respective upper-body clothing pieces. Out of sheer curiosity, you didn't struggle, wondering what would happen in this situation.

"sorry m'lord, i was just checking a noise-"

The Malevolent Sans stomped into view, his magenta scarf billowing in the cold wind, and his darkened armor showing off his skeletal arms. His gloved fists were clenched with a fierce fury, but as soon as he saw you and Chara, it was subsided with the subtle gleam of curiosity and suspicion in his eyelights... Then, as you watched thoughtfully, Chara wriggled free and pointed dramatically at the short skeleton.

"The Malevolent Sans! I suppose you're here to capture me, the human who dares challenge you with my very presence!"

You quickly covered your mouth to stifle a giggle, still hanging in Papyrus' grasp, but not bothered enough to try freeing yourself. The taller skeleton seemed amused at Chara's theatrics, but both him and you knew it was one of the best ways to deal with this hyperactive skeleton.

"HUMAN, YOU STAND BEFORE THE CAPTAIN OF THE ROYAL GUARD!! PREPARE YOURSELF FOR A PAINFUL DEATH!!"

Wait, battle? The Snowdin boss fight never occurred this early...

"Alas, your prey is weak! I hunger and thirst; it would not be a Truly Honorable Battle if I were to face you now!"

...Clever Chara. Playing to the small shred of dignity within the hyperactive skeleton. Very, very clever...

The tall skeleton hoisted you up within his right arm, holding you securely around the waist as he reached forth and picked up Chara in a similar manner. Evidently, this was how the human got the battle to occur at its usual location each reset... interesting. You almost respected their tenacity.

When the four of you had reached the home of the brothers, you were unceremoniously dumped in the snow alongside Chara, and it was only quick reflexes that prevented the incoming kick from landing. Rolling to the side, you dodged less-than-gracefully, but got enough space to bring yourself to a standing position without trouble. Chara fared similarly, but had let the kick land out of... something... for the shorter male skeleton before you.

...okay then.

Humming cheerfully as you made your way towards the door, you were pulled back roughly by the collar of your cloak for Sans and Chara to pass by first, and remained still within Papyrus' grasp. He didn't let you go, instead lifting you to his eye level, and... sniffing? Probably catching your scent. You were new to this timeline, and he _was_ called a mutt by his brother.

With a shrug, you cooperated, and eventually made it into the house with your everything intact. However, you remained by the door with the silent Papyrus, watching Sans watch Chara eat his specialty. This became awkward quickly- everyone just watching Chara eat- but you weren't offered food and you didn't want to speak and get stabbed for it, so you accepted the silence and waited patiently...

The silence was broken when Sans and Chara left to go to the battlefield, and you were carried along to follow.

"I, THE MALEVOLENT SANS, WILL TAKE YOU DOWN HERE AND NOW, HUMAN!! PREPARE YOURSELF!!"

The skeleton sent a bone attack towards the human, and you watched the fight passively until Papyrus leaned in to start speaking.

"so, who the fuck are you?"

The human dodged, seeming to stumble a bit at the last jump.

"Straight to the point, eh? Arista."

Another bone attack lit up the field, this one being a lovely mixture of magenta and white.

"your full name. i saw your soul kid, you aren't normal. you don't belong here."

You chuckled quietly, turning away from the fight to look at Papyrus. He was already staring back at you.

"My apologies, Papyrus Gaster, but I don't quite know what you're talking about... and if I did, why would I answer to you about it?"

Playing ignorant- a challenge. The human glanced over at you two and noticed Papyrus' focused state... and slowly drew a toy knife. The tall skeleton was staring at you with an expression that would be unreadable, if you weren't already aware of his tics. 

"how do you know that last name? nobody knows that name anymore, not even sans and undyne."

You smirked within the darkness of your hood, noticing the gleam of the knife from the corner of your socket. This was getting interesting... the demon was using you as a distraction so they could kill Sans without interruption.

_You couldn't interfere._

"You're already aware of the timelines by this point, so I suppose I can speak of them with you. The original holder of that name was my... father, in a sense. Just like you, just like Sans, but in another timeline. Also..."

You leaned forward, and tilted your head towards Sans as the knife sliced cleanly through his cervical vertebrae.

"...Sans was just killed by the human."

Papyrus whipped his skull around to face the battlefield, dropping you in the process, and beheld the sight of his master- _his brother_ \- turning to dust. The human child peered back at him, sending a gleeful smile his direction, and you immediately accepted that this was a Neutral timeline you'd fallen into.

He didn't accept it as easily as you did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, there's gonna be a special skelly appearing in the next chapter. Wanna guess who it is? ;3


	7. But They Had Been Silenced

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You encounter a Wild Skeleton!

"you knew she pulled a knife on him."

You brought up a gloved hand and inspected it for any dirt, responding to the horrified tone with exceptional indifference.

"Yes, I did."

The child walked onwards, continuing towards Waterfall now that you were held up by Papyrus.

"you knew she was going to kill him."

The tall skeleton stared at you with a dangerous gleam in his sockets. Perhaps lethal.

"Yes, I was aware of that."

You lowered your hand and stared back, your tone of voice revealing nothing.

"you said gaster was your father too. why would you just let your brother die like that!?"

The human was gone. All clear.

You grasped Papyrus by his maroon hoodie and teleported to the area where Alphys' final fight would occur, releasing him upon arrival. The familiar magic confirmed your previous statement.

"Because it doesn't matter. This _timeline_ doesn't matter. Once the human RESETs, you'll forget everything about it except for some expression reading. When Chara comes through next, you won't remember _me_ through a simple expression of _hers_. Thus, this conversation itself is entirely pointless."

The appearance of colored bones piercing through your body made you freeze, not wanting to risk damage, and you stared at Papyrus with a curious gleam in your eyelights.

To say he was furious would be an understatement. The massive, pointed bone forming within his hand indicated that he meant you a good deal of violence. Now that just wouldn't do.

Blinking, you teleported away, and hid in his basement lab. The skeleton wouldn't suspect that you'd hide somewhere so close to his-

A screech of surprise escaped you as several bones jutted out from the wall beside you, and you looked up to see Papyrus. Shit... Just your luck for entering an inherently violent universe for a change...

"Papyrus, I am aware that this is difficult to accept, but this is not the timeline with the best end-"

You burst out the door as a barrage of bones flew your way-

"-ing! I cannot tell you what the best ending is because you haven't experienced it yet-"

Catching a bone, you snap it in half and use your magic to form twin swords out of it-

"-but there is one out there! The deja vu feelings will stop eventually!"

He didn't seem interested in hearing what you were saying, judging by the abrupt blue status of your soul, so you went quiet, simply dodging and blocking.

You took a deep breath, focusing on your environment. The bone attacks Papyrus sent you came from all directions- as was his advantage in this home field of his- but you had the agility and monster strength to avoid them, even with the altered gravity effect upon your soul. What bones you couldn't avoid were deflected by your bone swords, sent off to the sides of his body and your own depending upon the angle. Unfortunately, this constant movement and focus prevented you from teleporting away, as you couldn't divert your attention for even a second or risk being hit.

Stamina. It came down to stamina, which of you had more of it. You'd used up a large amount of energy with your teleports and shortcuts today, but he was using up a good deal of energy with his constant barrage right now... Your bone swords used up much less energy in comparison to his current output, and with your greater magic stores overall, you'd be able to withhold this assault long enough to escape. So long as you didn't use any more magic, you could escape alive and well.

You didn't particularly want to experience death a third time...

A flash of color in the trees distracted the two of you from battle, and you both paused for a split-second to scope out the perceived possible threat. The presence of another monster could impact the fight either way, but would be more so to your own detriment than that of Papyrus, given the fact that _you didn't belong here_ , as he'd so eloquently put it.

_You wanted so much to belong somewhere..._

That was why you needed to find your home timeline. That was why you continued subjecting yourself to dangerous situations like the one you were in now. If you didn't try, you would never succeed. It was as simple as that.

The flash of color was seen again in the periphery of your vision, and you leapt away from the monster that'd caused it. It was... another skeleton!?

His body was that of a Sans, but his style?

"...Holy _funk_."

WHAT.

He stepped forward, a little spinner whirling around atop his backwards hat as he came into full view, his toothy grin wide and his colorful outfit blinding with its human 90's theme. His rectangular shades had the word YO-LO on it in bright yellow and blue lettering, and it was all you could do to not stare in shock and disgust...

Scratch that, you stared pretty hard, and even muttered under your breath in some sense of awe.

"Is this creature really a Sans?"

...You just shared a moment with an UnderFell Papyrus. Congratulations.

"wassup brosephs, i just caught wind of this totally radtastic battle vibe in here, yo!"

The only person whose shock mirrored your own was that of SwapFell Papyrus.

"who the _funk_ are you, and why do you look like sans!?"

The colorful skeleton laughed cheerfully- a skillful mask you could appreciate at any other time- and you instinctively stepped back to get just a little more distance between him and yourself.

"bruh, i'm crashin' this party cuz that little lady is totally fresh here! tell me my fine dudette, why haven't i seen your pretty self around the multiverse before now?"

WHAT.

You noticed that he didn't really answer either of Papyrus' questions.

"UM. I'd really rather not, sorry."

A burst of confetti from a colorful Gaster Blaster overhead had you thoroughly disturbed, and you were on your last thread of tolerance... when the colorful Sans suddenly teleported directly in front of you.

"FUN TALK, HOLY _FUNK_ , [I AM OUT](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=L4SSvmdJyis)!"

You tugged on the edge of reality as quickly as you could, almost terrified of what this Sans could do. It occurred to you too late that this was the first skeleton you'd met that also traveled universes... and he called it the multiverse too.


	8. In a Land Without Fear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Objective: Escape Fresh [complete]  
> Objective: ??? [incomplete]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I keep getting excited and posting chapters, I'm trying to get more chapters on hold in case I get writer's block, but I _keep getting excited aahahhhhaha **somebody stop me**_ ;-;

Upon reaching the Void, you didn't even wait before pulling yourself forward again, the darkness giving way to a burst of blinding light. Your first action was to make certain that the whacked out Sans from the previous universe hadn't followed you...

Thank the stars, he wasn't here.

When you glanced around, you found yourself standing on a tree branch, the bottom of your lengthened cloak swaying in the open air. Fortunately, you had enough experience climbing trees to make your way back down, albeit in a rather awkward fashion- you simply flopped over and let gravity take you where you belonged.

You landed in a large plastic trash can.

Humming a low note, you freed yourself from the uncomfortable clutches of your metaphorical home, and took a good look around. The sun was setting over the treetops in the distance, and you stood upon a cement walkway before a clearing of lush grass and vibrant flowers. A park, meaning that the monsters of this universe had made it to the Surface- a True Pacifist timeline. This was, quite likely, the Alpha timeline for this universe due to this fact.

Alpha timelines were a tricky thing. There was only one per universe, and for whatever reason the Multiverse wanted to give, they were concluded with the True Pacifist Ending. All other timelines of a universe were mere possibilities, technically taking place in the past due to one or two of the Alpha timeline's occupants remembering them. However, should the human perform a TRUE RESET in the Alpha timeline of a universe, the universe unraveled its timelines back to the beginning and let them be created all over again.

This being an Alpha timeline, it was very probable that the occupants with timeline memory would remember you, if you'd been here before. That could be dangerous, but you believed that you were careful enough to avoid being detained for too long or killed.

No matter the danger, however, you really wanted a drink.

Making a decision that you'd probably regret later, you sauntered out of the park and began searching for the equivalent of Surface Grillby's, observing your surroundings as you did so. The utterly peaceful atmosphere suggested that this was one of the happier universes- perhaps UnderSwap or SugarTale? The lack of candy buildings disproved the latter, unfortunately. You would've liked to have some chocolate about now. Nearby, you saw Muffet's Bakery, but it was closed. The existence of that building disproved the UnderSwap theory, making your curiosity increase.

The people around you didn't spare a second glance as you halted in place before your goal, simply moved around you with a jovial attitude you began to emulate. Entering the bar with cheerful bounce to your steps, you noticed a stage with a human and a fish monster having an energetic competition of sorts...

You were in DanceTale.

Finding a seat at the bar, you bobbed your head to the beat, letting your magic hum in a happy manner as you watched the human take their victory against the fish. The fish laughed and congratulated the human with a painful-sounding slap on the back, walking off the stage towards a table with a lizard and two skeletons. After a moment taken to bow to the audience, the human hopped gracefully from the stage and joined the fish woman at the table.

The human DJ laughed at the dance, and set a low beat to keep the excitement going as he read off the information of the dance battle with animation.

"Alright people, that was Frisky Bits and Undying Undyne, with the winner being... Frisky Bits! Give our contestants a round of applause!"

You clapped politely, feeling the energy in the air pulse as the bargoers whooped and cheered. A small smile grew upon your hidden features, and was tempted to keep growing at the DJ's next words.

"Next up in our final battle of the day, we have Sans the Skeleton! Let's give him a hand!"

The skeleton gave himself a hand, ripping one off and throwing it onto the stage to a round of laughter, before climbing up and reattaching it. He seemed somewhat tense, his eyelights hidden beneath his hood as he shifted from side to side. Evidently he hadn't quite gotten over his dance shyness, even in the Alpha timeline.

"And his opponent, a new arrival to town as of this afternoon, the Lady Arista!"

... _no._

A familiar hum of energy nearby brought your attention to a booth nearby, and a very familiar cloaked figure waved cheekily at you before vanishing. Did you really just...?

You really did. You just trolled yourself from the past... or the future... Good job, you.

Given no choice but to go along with the competition, you stood from your barstool and made your way to the stage, shaking your head in amusement. With a hidden smirk, you leapt up onto the stage in a front flip, deciding to give the audience a little show to rile them up. It'd been a while since you really cut loose and had fun- stars knew you needed to after your last universe jump.

The steady beat of the DJ's music faded away as you faced your opponent and bowed, allowing your enchanted cloak to withdraw into the shape of that hooded shawl that flattered your lolita style. Upon returning to a standing position, the skeleton before you grasped your gloved hand and pressed his grinning teeth against it in a pseudo-kiss. You brought your other hand up to your hood and giggled at the cuteness, allowing yourself to get into the cheerful mood of the universe as your heart-shaped soul popped out in sync with his own.

Due to his name having been called first, the music of his soul began sooner, pulsing out a deep, electric drum-beat that sent vibrations through the stage. He withdrew from you, pulling into a low stance and shifting the weight of his body until he was balancing upon one hand. It was as though he were performing a cartwheel in slow motion, and you began to bob your head in time with his tune as he abruptly halted in a handstand and twirled around. Using the momentum of his upside down spin, Sans appeared to crumple in on himself, but the move executed ended up with him lying on his right side with one hand on his jaw and the other calling you out.

You [accepted the challenge](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DX9jwtHSSmM&itct=CA8QpDAYAyITCKfgk5DT-dECFQT2qgodVJUKmTIHcmVsYXRlZEjM3afGrfzBsyA%3D), sliding your foot forward as a piano began to sync with his electric bass, tempering the sharp beat with a melodic overtone. Drawing back smoothly, you spun, your knee-length skirt swirling around your legging-covered femurs as your footwork increased speed. 

This type of dancing was called the C-Walk, a style similar to Hip-hop and Breakdance focusing primarily upon the legs without many flips and fancy maneuvers. It wasn't your primary dance style, from what you'd learned in your past, but it was what felt the most right combined with Sans' music. Likely if you danced with the Gaster of this universe, you'd end up performing an Edwardian Gavotte, and with Papyrus, you'd probably mesh with his music in an Assassin's Tango.

Your opponent's eyelights seemed brighter at the prospect of someone dancing his style- or close to it- as he pulled back his hood slightly to reveal them to you as he stood. Perhaps he thought you'd remove your own hood if he did so, but that wasn't likely to happen- not unless certain conditions had been met. 

No matter what he thought, Sans began to dance alongside you as the music of the two souls meshed together. Gradually, you grew closer to him, and unexpectedly bent forward at the hips with a bass drop. The separate dances combined in the moment the skeleton rolled across your back, his legs kicking up high in a mirror image of your own for just a moment, untied shoelaces snapping against the soles of his sneakers as he landed on your other side and began copying your footwork.

A sense of longing filled your soul as you danced alongside him, movements mirroring his as you followed the flow of the magic in the air. Unfortunately, the song was coming to an end, and the two of you froze together with the final beat, facing each other. His eyelights searched the darkness of your hood, and yours searched his expression to find genuine joy in his smile.

It seemed like forever before the crowd burst into applause, the DJ calling out the victor as your opponent's friends rushed the stage and picked him up. Laughing at the display, you watched them carry him away as your souls returned to their bodies. The dance had been tiring, but beautiful, and you felt a sense of fulfillment for just a few moments.

Then, without any warning, the human child grasped your gloved hand and began to pull you towards the table, a bright smile upon their face.


	9. Joy Sang Louder than Sorrow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You dine with the Dancetale gang! What could go wrong, you ask?

The human child dragged you over to the table and sat you down next to Papyrus and Sans, cheekily trapping you with their own body as they sat down on your lap. The laughter going around the table began to die down as Undyne leaned forward and ruffled your hood atop your skull, causing you to release a huff of amusement before she started talking.

"Punk that was amazing! You're the first human I've seen who dances the same style as Sans, and you kept up with him! I wanna dance battle with you next!"

You laughed and shook your head, reaching up with a gloved hand to correct the wardrobe misalignment she'd caused.

"Sorry miss, I only dance when the universe demands it."

That seemed to remind her that you hadn't been introduced to the group- _as you'd intended_ \- and she grinned wide as she began pointing them out, starting with herself.

"I'm Undyne, I was on stage with Frisk before you and Sans were!"

You nodded, patting the human child on the head like one might pet a cat. They seemed to like it.

"The lovely girl next to me is Alphys, and she's my girlfriend, so don't even think about going after her!"

Alphys blushed, taking a drink to prevent herself from saying anything stupid.

"The tall skeleton holding Sans is Papyrus, his brother and my best friend!"

That seemed to make Frisk indignant, as they signed that they thought _they_ were Undyne's besty. Undyne's response of being able to have multiple besties was put in the background as you examined the skeletons beside you, more focused upon them than anyone else at the moment.

Sans noticed your stare first, raising a hand to send a lazy wave your way. It was roughly a second after that Papyrus drew you into an unexpected hug, causing you to make an undignified squeak as your ribs were crushed.

"heh, hey paps, i'm pretty sure the human needs to breathe."

You laughed slightly as you were abruptly released, keeping in mind that they thought you were human as you hugged the taller skeleton in reassurance to his apologies.

"Don't worry Paps, I'm f-"

You were cut off by a gasp.

"HUMAN!! YOU HAVE GIVEN ME A NICKNAME, AND ONLY THE BEST OF FRIENDS USE NICKNAMES!! DOES THAT MEAN YOU'RE MY FRIEND NOW??"

A giggle escaped your lips as you nodded, and were subsequently crushed against his ribcage once more.

"WOWIE!! FRISK, I HAVE OBTAINED A SECOND HUMAN FRIEND!! YOU WERE RIGHT!!"

That early to the Surface, huh?

Your perpetual smile softened slightly as the table settled into a fluid conversation, drinks being purchased by Undyne, as she wanted to see how much alcohol you could handle. That was almost put to a stop when the stripes of your leggings were pointed out, but you assured them that you simply liked the design contrast to your mostly solid-color outfit. Still, you tried to avoid the contest despite being equipped with a bottle of red wine from 180X- somehow they'd managed to get your favorite choice alcohol out of you.

The feeling that was bubbling up in your soul was... nice. It was calming, warm, inviting... You felt almost as if you finally belonged somewhere...

"Punk, hey punk!"

Snapping to attention, you saluted Undyne in a joking manner with a "ma'am, yes ma'am!?" to show that you were listening.

"Frisk wants you to come over for a sleepover with us tonight!"

You tilted your head curiously at the child, taking in their hopeful- and mischievous- grin. With a dash of contagious mischief yourself, you pretended to be thinking very hard upon the matter, bringing a gloved hand up to mime stroking an imaginary beard as you hummed and made various noises. Successfully eliciting a giggle from the kid, you nodded firmly to yourself as though making a decision, and revealed your choice.

"That sounds delightful, Frisky dear, but are you certain this isn't just a ploy to get under my skirts? You are quite the flirt, you know."

The teasing lilt to your voice made it clear you were joking, and most of the table seemed amused by the put-out look Frisk sent your way before signing out a pleading response. The puppy-dog eyes combined with the sincere plea won you over... almost. Still, you agreed, simply thinking that you'd leave after they fell asleep.

"Alright then, I suppose I could rearrange my empty schedule for the occasion..."

You just hoped that you wouldn't regret it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nothing could go wrong, right? Everything was totally fine.


	10. But Nothing Good Lasts Forever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You show a disturbing amount of knowledge, and flee.

...you regretted it.

You'd been introduced to the King and Queen, and along with the other monsters, had sat down in their living room for some anime before bed. Unfortunately, you'd gotten just a smidgen too comfortable, and had fallen asleep with Frisk on your lap. 

Upon waking up, you heard a small gasp and felt a weight lifting from your body. This brought you to awareness faster than anything, and quickly sitting up, you searched around for what could be wrong. It was only when looking at yourself that you realized the extent of just how much you'd fucked up...

_Your sleeves had been pulled up..._

Hurriedly pulling them back down, you whipped your skull up to see Frisk and Sans staring at you. That confirmed it. They'd seen your skeletal arms. And that was a problem, since they thought you'd been human.

Thinking back to the previous night, you recalled the moment of the dance battle where your soul had popped out. It had shone a lovely shade of indigo, which on its own was unusual, but it had also been in the heart shape of a human soul. Your lack of visible features did nothing to dispute their assumptions that you were so, and neither did you yourself try to correct them...

You'd let your guard down. Of course, it couldn't last. You didn't belong here, you shouldn'tve let yourself get so comfortable. Even though this was one of the most peaceful and uplifting AU's you'd encountered, there was no excuse for your existence that would be bought.

"Haha... I suppose my secret is out then..."

You stood up, drawing back your hood to reveal a sad, downturned mouth of teeth set into your skull similarly to Sans' own. An ethereal indigo glow filled the dark room as your hair was released- yes, you had hair- and allowed to flow upwards like a flame atop your skull. Along with your magical hair, your eyelights glowed as well, little rounded circles of sorrow that were focused upon the startled face of Sans.

"I hadn't planned on revealing this to you at all, but... well, it doesn't matter anymore. We should discuss this elsewhere. Things must be said that cannot be heard by the ignorant."

Reaching forth, you grasped the sleeves of Frisk and Sans with one hand each before pulling them into a teleport. Your destination was nonspecific, but restrained within this universe as were all ordinary teleports, so it wasn't that much of a surprise that you ended up in the Judgment Hall.

"Ah... I see fate decides to bring us here... It is fitting, given the history of you two within this corridor, and what you plan on doing to me... Judgement."

You released the two and leapt back several meters, adopting a defensive stance as you drew your hood up to hide your features once more. Of course, the child attempted to reach you, but was held back by a suspicious Sans.

"so... you know our personal history here, do you? you know what roles i've played in this hall?"

You remained still as you responded, not wanting to evoke an attack.

"Comic Sans Serif Gaster, Royal Judge under King Asgore of the Kingdom of Stars, appointed between the collection of the second and third human souls. Dance style; Hip-Hop. Frisk Dreemurr, adopted child of the former Queen Toriel of the Kingdom of Stars, host soul of Chara Dreemurr, the deceased Child of Hope. Dance styles; Ballet and Modern Dance."

You took a breath.

"This Hall hasn't experienced dancing in this timeline, but when it did, Hip Hop and Modern Dance clashed and blended in a fatal battle for the sake of reality itself. Hip Hop failed, and the world was erased, returned only when Frisk gave their soul to Chara as a final retribution for their crimes..."

Sans stared at you, jaw agape in undisguised shock. You'd taken him by surprise, _good_ -

"how can you know all this? who are you?"

Leaning slightly deeper into the defensive stance you stood in, you briefly contemplated leaving, but your magic hadn't quite recovered from the multiple jumps the day previous. You'd need to stall for a while longer.

"Before I can tell you how I know this, I need to know how far you have progressed with your machine... yes, _that one_..."

You could see the recognition in his eyelights.

"it's up and running. so you understand that thing's purpose too. does that mean you're from... elsewhere?"

A nod of affirmation.

"My travel is much less accurate than that of the machine, but it is entirely unlimited. Centuries of time have given me the knowledge of most universal constants in space, the experience of countless timelines within each of them. The Multiverse is a grand, yet repetitive machine grinding ever onwards towards goals that lie beyond our understanding. You asked how I know; there is your answer. As to who I am... don't tell me you've forgotten the dance battle of last night already."

A sound of surprised displeasure escaped his throat, and he stepped forward with a hand reaching out to grasp your cloak. You dodged backwards, stepping into the shadow of a pillar, and dodged back out into the light as he stepped forward again. It seemed he _had_ forgotten your name... That saddened you.

"you can't just give some of the information! this is important, i don't remember you, you're new here! you could be changing everything... don't leave without telling me your na-"

You cut him off with an unhappy sigh.

"You don't remember me, yes, but I am not new to this universe. I have encountered it many times previously, during several timelines, and it remains one of my favorites... but your memory doesn't last. It never does, and likely never will, as with all Sanses and Papyruses kept within the confines of their universes. You see, this happy ending is what I call the Alpha Timeline. At this point, there are only two actions left available for Frisk to take. They can CONTINUE going forward, or they can perform a TRUE RESET and go all the way back to falling down, guaranteed memory loss for all but them. If they perform a TRUE RESET, the Alpha Timeline is erased and rewritten, all memories except their own gone forever because they never truly existed."

Bringing a hand up to your skull, you rubbed the bone between your eyesockets, and continued your explanation.

"I exist outside the limitations of this universe, and thus am not affected by the child's timeline whimsy. On the other hand, Sans, you are. This is your universe, and yes, your exposure to the Void grants you some partial immunity to timeline memory loss, but you still forget anything more than a LOAD. Hell, you don't entirely remember LOADs either- you use a lot of codewords and triggers and expression reading to get as far as you do... So basically, what I'm trying to say is..."

You dropped your hand, allowing that arm to go limp against your side.

"You'll forget me... again. Heh, you can't understand how this feels... knowing that everything you do is nothing to everything else... knowing that no matter how hard you try to fit in, you just don't belong with the other cogs of this universe's machine... knowing that you'll probably never even find your way home to where you _do_ belong. You can try to understand, you have before and you will in the future, but you just... never reach that point."

A sensation of being choked welled up in your nonexistent throat, and you swallowed heavily, shaking your head.

"No, enough of this. The child will perform a TRUE RESET eventually, and you will forget this conversation ever happened. I should take my leave before I get more attached than I already have."

You averted your gaze, unable to withstand the looks of pity within the eyes of the skeleton and the child, and turned to walk away... but paused for a moment, to listen to the plea in the skeleton's voice.

"well... on the off chance that this doesn't reset... tell me your name so i can prove that i remember you."

Slowly, you raise your head to stare at the vaulted ceiling of the hall, and closed your sockets. Despite everything, there was still a great deal of HoPe within your soul...

"...Very well. My name is Arista. If I return to a later point of this timeline, I shall ask you for it... please don't disappoint me."

With that, you reached forth and _tugged_ , reality tearing apart and enveloping you in the sheer nothingness that was the Void.

Ha... 

Home, sweet home...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> QUICK!
> 
> Name a character or universe!
> 
> THE PLOT OF THIS STORY DEPENDS ON YOOOUUU!


	11. In a Moment of Silence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now entering Tragic Backstory™ territory.  
> Please make certain your Friendship Passes exceed Level 4 before entering.  
> Thank you~

You were spent. Three universes in two days- technically one- was a good strain on your magic stores, and you needed to rest up. Where better to do so than the Void? Theoretically, while in the Void you didn't exist, so you couldn't have dreams, right?

Incorrect. You still dreamt, but the dreams were few and far between. Unfortunately, these recent adventures seemed to trigger something in your subconscious mind that made it want to show you old memories. Meh, no big deal...

* * *

_**"Subject Zero, we have done it. Your magic is finally stabilized enough to be directed at the Barrier! Come, come, we have not a moment to waste!"** _

_The scientist was exceptionally pleased today, speaking to you in an upbeat tone of hope and anticipation. All those experiments and tests of his had finally come through, and you were finally what he wanted. You felt... happy for him... as he tossed you some clothes and ordered you to get changed out of your medical gown._

_Compliance with this order was easy. The clothes were very pretty- a puffy black and white dress, striped leggings, and black boots- and you were immensely curious as to where he would be taking you. The Barrier was far away in New Home, from what you'd heard- perhaps he would be bringing you there? Trips outside of the Lab were rare, and always had some purpose._

_Sufficiently clothed, you exited the testing chamber and accepted the manifested hand offered to you, obediently following the tall skeleton towards the exit. He was too tall to hold your hand properly, so most days he didn't bother to, but it seemed that his good mood had brought out the fading kindness in his soul._

_Things were rarely this good that lasted, but you'd always believed that they could do so someday._

_The scientist hummed a cheerful tune as he walked ahead of you, his skull held high as he led you through caves of orange stone and red magma, along walkways of metal and flashing lights, down streets of grey and black. You remained silent as he spoke with a Guardsman, smiling passively as he'd taught you to, and followed him into the hallway of gleaming red and orange and gold. It was a beautiful sight you'd only seen once before, so you took it in as deeply as possible, making certain that it's beauty was ingrained in your memory before he led you back onto a path of grey._

_**"Your Highness, has my equipment arrived in the Barrier room yet?"** _

_You listened idly to the boring adult conversation as the scientist released your hand, remaining close by as you'd been taught to. However, some giggles from the doorway attracted your attention, and you noticed a human child and the son of the king peering into the room at you. They looked at you, looked at each other, and the human whispered something that had the goat-kid giggling again. Then, they approached, and you stepped back warily._

_Humans were dangerous. The scientist had taught you to never trust a human, that it was humankind who had sealed monsters underground so unfairly... but... they didn't look_ that _dangerous..._

_You accepted the human child's hand, and were led out of the room amidst a storm of fur and giggles. The two children worked together in a mission of utter stealth, sneaking you down the hall and into their room, and you were smiling by the time they introduced themselves._

_"Howdy! I'm Asriel, and this is Chara! We've never seen you around before, what's your name?"_

_You turned your head in a shy manner, avoiding the eager stare of the goat-kid and the speculative gaze of the human child, and brought your hands together neatly on your lap._

_"D-Doctor Gaster calls me Subject Zero, a lot... sometimes Zero or 0-A if he's in a rush..."_

_The human looked angry all of a sudden, and you quickly held up your hands to try calming them down._

_"H-Hey, I like your names! Why are they only one word instead of two?"_

_Asriel tilted his head at you, and reached out to grasp one of your bony hands._

_"They're our first names! We have a first name and a last name. Our last name is Dreemurr, because we're in the same family!"_

_Chara chose that moment to take your other hand, and you found yourself trapped under the inspection of two curious children as they spoke._

_"Gaster is your... father, right? That means your last name is Gaster. Subject Zero is too weird to be a first name though. How about we make you a name? Your dress is a fashion style called Lolita, and you look kinda delicate and tough at the same time, so how about that as a name?"_

_Your zygomatic bones were suddenly lit a light shade of indigo, and you tried to withdraw, pulling your small hands from their own._

_"I-I think my designation is okay, besides, it can't be changed so easily! Sorry but thank you!"_

_The door opened, saving you from further embarrassment, and the clink of colliding teeth had you upright quickly. Gaster manifested a hand for you to take, and you accepted it, glancing back at the two other children as you were led out of the room. Their shared, unreadable expressions made you wary..._

_**"Zero, I believe I have told you not to wander off. Don't do so again, understood? Especially when there is such important work to be done."** _

_You nodded in compliance, watching the grassy throne room go by as you were led into a tunnel with lots of lab equipment and..._

_The Barrier..._

_The whooshing tunnel of black and white light had your teeth parting in awe, as you beheld the seemingly endless expanse of energy. A nudge on your jaw had your mouth closing again, but still you stared in wonder at the Barrier, the beginnings of intimidation forming within your soul as you were guided to a padded chair before it and strapped down._

_From the corner of your socket, you noticed the two children from before peering out from behind a shadowy rock face, but focused on the explanation that Gaster was giving the king._

_**"-so the connection between the subject and the laser deliberately forms a feedback loop, collecting exponentially more and more energy from the unique soul magic that Subject Zero generates, before finally emitting a burst of energy large enough to punch a hole through the Barrier itself! I've tested this on magical barriers of a similar sort within the Lab, and I assure you, it just might be the break we are looking for."** _

_The scientist was excited. The king had been convinced. The children watched in curiosity and a growing sense that they shouldn't be eavesdropping... You sat firm, awaiting the moment the machine got turned on._

_With the hum of powerful magic gathering, the machine began its drain upon your stores, and your brightly glowing hair began to diminish in size. Something clattered and whined in the distance as your hearing began to fade, your senses overwhelmed by the draw of energy upon your soul. As everything grew brighter, your energy reserves grew thinner, until everything went black..._

_..._

_Upon return to consciousness, you were still in the chair, but the two children were in front of you, unstrapping you. Too weak to protest, you simply lay limp as the human child picked you up and held you easily, the dim awareness of your clouded mind straying to the scientist and the king._

_**"-failed, my tests never indicated that there was a regenerative capability built into the Barrier! The hole should've stayed there, all results pointed towards that outcome! My king-"** _

_The scientist was... displeased._

_"WingDings, please, calm down. There was no way to see this happening, but the Barrier was created with the power of humanity's most powerful Mages. Don't be so hard on yourself!"_

_The experiment was a failure._

_**"You're... you're right. The results from this... failure... indicate that the Barrier requires the power of seven pure human souls to break. Subject Zero alone doesn't possess enough power to rival that... My apologies, your Highness, for failing..."** _

_You zoned out, attention returning to the human child holding you. Their gaze was settled upon the scientist, their ruby eyes possessing that sharp gleam you associated with calculation. The goat-kid beside them seemed to be focused on you, a worried expression upon his face, and you smiled to reassure him of your well-being._

_You had failed your sole purpose for existence. The last thing you wanted to do was to make things worse for the scientist by causing him trouble- if it was the best you could do, to avoid being a hindrance after such a failure, you would do it._

_No matter what._

* * *

Opening the lids of your sockets, you took in the vast nothingness of the Void, and sighed. The sigh faded away after a moment, and you sat up... to take in the sight of the melted Gaster sitting before you.

White, circular eyelights met indigo, diamond ones, and the scientist signed his native font.

**"Hello, my dear. Perhaps it is not the time for talk?"**

You shook your skull in disagreement, and brought your full attention upon the scientist before you, replying to him in kind.

**"Not at all. What brings you to me at this moment, father?"**


	12. A Single Melody was Heard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Behold! Mystery Skelly #1 makes his appearance! 
> 
> And here, have some feels too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You may thank Punny_Fan for their _blind_ vote leading to this skeleton's appearance ;)

**"Father, are you certain I must? There is nothing else you have seen that will assist me?"**

As the segmented scientist had told you, he viewed universes and timelines in a manner akin to gazing through a window. The nothingness of the Void could be condensed in places and peered through as though it were glass, an action available only to the scattered souls trapped within its infinite confines, but could never be breached without a full soul. According to his observations, the only beings naturally capable of breaching the Void were the Sans equivalents of each universe and yourself, with the rare Papyrus equivalent who'd learned the ability from necessity and tragedy.

Most Sanses and Papyruses with this universally-dubbed 'shortcut' ability had the knowledge and instincts to avoid remaining within the nothingness for long, so it was a surprise to the scientist to encounter a Sans wandering around all alone. The expression of fear and sheer anxiety upon his skull indicated that he had been here for some time, deprived of sensory input to such a level that he was beginning to withdraw to holding himself in order to simply feel _anything_... 

The rare emotion of empathy flared up within Gaster, demanding that he do something to assist this lost soul, where he himself had received no assistance. Regrettably, he was but a fraction of his true self- ha, a _fraction_ \- and thus his presence was not enough to assist the boy, being of such low strength that he could not even be perceived by the skeleton. But... there was someone else within this nothingness who could.

**"Yes, child. He has been wandering for some time, lost beyond the reach of his home timeline. I am certain you understand this."**

Your browbones furrowing, you brought a gloved hand up to scratch at the side of your skull, an unsteady knot forming in the gut you didn't have. Yes, you knew the feeling well, and with all the possible universes and timelines in existence, there were bound to be one or two more skeletons who entered the Void in a manner similar to your own. 

You had been lucky not to go insane, saved only by the scattered presence of the one who had pushed you here, but this skeleton was apparently weaker than you. He couldn't detect the presence of the scientist, thus he was utterly deprived of all that could ground him. Without that outside stimuli necessary for mental and emotional health, he would eventually succumb to the gradual loss of rhyme and reason, slowly lose what sense of stability he had left and fall to a fate worse than death...

How could you walk away with such a fate weighing down upon an innocent?

**"...Very well. Lead the way."**

* * *

"h-hello? is someone there?"

The skeleton before you appeared as nervous as he sounded, his arms withdrawn to clutch at the black and white scarf around his neck. His sockets were dark, empty of the eyelights that should've been developed at infancy, and he didn't seem to notice your presence... blind, perhaps? The poor soul...

You sighed quietly, and his skull slowly turned in your direction, hesitant. A hand reached out towards you, but was withdrawn halfway, returning to grip the cream-colored sweater that housed it. The sight saddened you, made you wish to move forward immediately and embrace this soul, but such an action would be greatly detrimental to recovery from the sensory deprivation he was suffering from.

"p-please, you've gotta help me. i... i can't see, and i've been walking forever, and i should've bumped into something by now, but there's _nothing here_ , i-i can't..."

He withdrew further, and very carefully, you reached out to rest your gloved hand upon the back of the one he had offered and withdrawn before. Such small contact, yes, but it would've been too much had he been in a more advanced stage of degradation. As it was, you probably shouldn'tve gone with touch as an initial stimulus, but his reaction was certainly better than you could've hoped for or expected.

He leapt forward and hugged you.

Stiffening in surprise, you took a deep breath as he held you tight, and brought your arms around the boy. He was desperate, you could tell. Desperate for contact, desperate for reassurance that he _existed_ , and you refused to deny such needed gratification.

"Hello dear, you've wandered quite far from home... This is no place for anyone to be for long."

The skeleton gripped you tighter as you spoke, as though he were afraid that you would vanish the second he let go. It was troublesome, how you found that to be endearing.

"w-what is this place? where is everyone? i-i've gotta warn the king about the human..."

His voice was muffled by your shoulder, and you frowned to yourself as you were reminded of your small stature. In this case, it prevented you from enveloping the lost Sans in a grounding hug, but at least there was still something you could do to help, being a skeleton...

After bringing down your hood, you reached up delicately to shift his skull until it was positioned before your own. His expression was worry, anxiety, panic- nothing good to have while in the Void- and you brought your forehead to his in a matronly skeleton kiss. Focusing, your diamond eyelights widened and hollowed out until they formed indigo rings around the very edges of your sockets, and began to glow bright in a soothing sway of magic.

Eye-glowing was essential to a skeleton's mental and emotional well-being, and the way this boy was acting, he didn't seem to be capable of it. From your travels, you recognized him to be one of the few Sanses with underdeveloped magic- blind, shy, underdeveloped magic. UnderTone...

"This is the Void, dear. You likely arrived here by taking a shortcut without having a specific destination in mind. Did something... dangerous, distract you?"

The energy flowing around the two was doing wonders, its constantly shifting patterns giving the male skeleton something to focus on. He found his own energy instinctively rising up with it, but without the necessary knowledge or capability to properly glow, his left eye simply formed a burning eighth note in the place of an eyelight. It was the best his magic could do, and while it wasn't entirely effective, it managed to help him calm down and think.

"the void... i'm in the void..."

The whisper was more akin to shock than terror, the negative emotions muted by the weight of your energy. Fortunately, he seemed to push that thought away in favor of answering your question, calmer now with something to focus on.

"yeah... the human was killing everyone, and i'd gotten past it to hotland, but... they killed the guard i was with, pushed me off the ledge towards the lava... i've never been good at teleporting. my blindness makes it hard to focus, and i was trying to think of anywhere but the lava beneath me... i ended up here."

You kept the blanket of energy flowing as you pondered this new information, guiding his underdeveloped magic into the pattern with an absentminded sway. So he believes that he teleported here, hmm? 

Teleportation was similar to shortcuts, except for the aspect of motion. While teleporting, one remained still, and manipulated one's position via accessing the quantum possibilities of one's location. Shortcuts on the other hand, while also not inherently requiring motion, required one to pull at the fabric of reality multiple times in relatively quick succession. The lack of teleportation skill in this skeleton indicated that he'd never taken a true shortcut before... perhaps this was his first.

"Child, do you recall feeling anything odd about this teleport? A tugging sensation, perhaps, as though your magic were affixed to one place and attempting to pull your body to it?"

There was a pause, followed by a hesitant nod. Your frown deepened at that, and you released the Sans before you, allowing your eyelights to return to their natural state as the glow faded away. However, you kept a firm hold of his hand, continuing to give him the grounding necessary in this empty place.

"Well, you seem to have encountered a similar situation to my own. What you had done is a similar magic to teleporting- one which requires a second use. No doubt, with only the knowledge and experience of teleporting, you were entirely unaware of the necessary second pull. This is what occurs when one fails to perform the second pull... they end up here, in the Void. If I am entirely honest, you are not the first I have seen perform this mistake, but the others caught on in enough time to save themselves from this fate."

He held your hand tight, following your guidance through the nothingness towards a destination he was unaware of. At the last, ominous-sounding statement to come forward from your teeth, he found a sense of fear creeping up his spine.

"i... we... we're trapped here?"

A firm squeeze on his hand kept him from falling deeper into the numbness that had settled over him, and he took a shuddering breath as his focus centered on that touch, that warmth that didn't belong to his own bones.

"Hmm... not quite. Teleporting in the Void is technically impossible due to the literal impossibility of the quantum possibilities required to do so, but shortcuts are capable of condensing the nothingness into a something, and pulling through that something to reveal a reality. This is a highly dangerous mode of transportation, given the absolute lack of awareness as to what could be on the other side of the shortcut, but so far I haven't been shoved into any walls or blended into the atoms of another solid object. Reality and non-reality seem to desire my continued existence."

As you spoke, you reached the destination you'd been leading this Sans toward- the place in the Void where you stored your stuff.

Similarly to the garbage dump, there were piles of boxes and objects of various shapes and sizes scattered about. After figuring out how to exit and return to the Void, you'd gone through a phase of collecting everything you could possibly get your hands on, out of a subtle desperation for connection with the outside world. This manifested as an almost compulsive urge, and with it, the possession of more things you had use for.

Even without your practically-kleptomaniac tendencies, sometimes things would still appear and disappear without much explanation. The oddest things you had received had been dozens of paper airplanes made of newspapers, an unopened package of human underwear, hand cream, and a bottle of lube with the single word 'Sorry' written over the label. Those items were quite amusing to receive- _somebody_ out there had a perverted sense of humor- and had their own separate area along with other items that you didn't recall bringing to the Void yourself.

Fortunately, after collecting so much over the course of several decades, you'd managed to wean yourself off of the urge to 'borrow' stuff, and had subsequently lost interest in the material possessions you had already obtained. Still, you felt the desire for organization, so you packed everything up into boxes and built the walls of a room with them, throwing large colored bedsheets over them to simulate true walls of a building. Gaster had laughed when you had sewn together and hung galaxy-themed sheets from the top edges of the high 'walls' to form a ceiling, but that was back when he was still being a tsundere asshole about his guilt, and he had since commented that he rather liked what you had done for yourself.

Once one got past the walls of boxes, this rather spacious 'room' was revealed to possess a large bed, a few couches and chairs, a few tables, various cooking appliances, a TV, several game consoles and games to go with them, and a solar generator that had been modified to efficiently convert passive magic energy instead of light energy. You really only used it for cooking and playing video games when recharging from too much universal input, so it tended to have more stored energy than you cared to use, but perhaps the arrival of a new skeleton would change that.

Bringing forward said new skeleton, you began to guide him through the layout of the area, keeping in mind his blindness.

"This all is basically what I've collected over the centuries. You're welcome to it, but try not to wander off without me or... or you'll probably never find it again. The Void has a very weird logic when it comes to actual _things_ residing within its base confines of _absence_."

Clearing your nonexistent throat, you sat down on a lone beanbag chair you'd taken a particular shine to several years back, and released the fellow skeleton. He explored a little bit, but stayed close, unease present in his body language. It was clear he was taking your warning seriously... _good_. 

Soon he returned to stand beside you, and you nudged him onto the closest couch, sensing a restless pattern forming in his energy.

"Alright, sit down there. I'm certain you wish to know more, to know how I know all this, and several other things... I'll do my best to explain. However, in order to do so efficiently, I first need to know what you know about Gaster."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I've got a few more chapters written up, but I'm stuck at a part in the next AU. I can't decide what path to take. Choose a number from 1 to 6 to vote!


	13. And You Were No Longer Alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tone!Sans has joined the Party!

It all started with WingDings Gaster, Royal Scientist of the Kingdom of Stars. In his search for a way to break the Barrier without the necessary human souls, he came up with many, many possible projects, and chose several to work on. The chosen projects vary within all the universes, but there is one project that remains a universal constant, one project that almost always results in the erasure of several monsters... 

The Timeline Project.

The most common goal of this project was to travel through time, back to the years before the Great War of Humans and Monsters, and prevent monsterkind from being sealed Underground. Its primary basis of example were the Save Points- dubbed Ocramids in some universes- that humanity had the ability to manipulate. These glowing yellow stars were formed from the mixture of monster magic and human determination, and served as points of massive magic generation. When the monsters were banished Underground, all Ocramids on the Surface dissipated, taking with them the primary source of humanity's magic. None remained, lost and forgotten to the passage of time over and over... reappearing only when a human fell.

The first human possessed a soul that gleamed as red as rubies in firelight, and claimed to see the Ocramids in various places of interest or relevance, places that they had felt the most determined throughout the Underground. Gaster became interested, began to study them in earnest alongside many other projects of his, and discovered the power that Determined Souls possessed- the manipulation of time itself.

Such potential, this new project held.

In some timelines, he successfully created a Save Point of his own, usually after injecting himself with an unhealthy amount of determination. In most, he did not. However, in each and every universe, he began to build a machine. This machine was able to monitor the timelines based upon donated determination and monster magic. It was like an artificial Ocramid, far weaker than the actual thing, but just barely capable of timeline immunity. A true breakthrough.

With the discovery of alternate timelines, the machine was put to the test, making several readouts based upon the magic it had been attuned to- Gaster's. It showed timelines all right, _his_ timelines. The readouts revealed a grim future should he continue the path he was set upon, but it was too late to fix it. The very creation of the machine was the point of no return, you see, and its construction spelled the doom for the science team upon execution of the eighteenth experiment...

As the machine predicted, the Royal Scientist fell into his creation, and was erased from existence with most of his team. The sole survivor, in some cases survivors, was Sans. If there were multiple survivors besides him, they were most often Alphys, Papyrus, and Grillby, in that order- people who didn't belong at the accident site anyways. Sometimes Sans was never involved in the Lab during Gaster's time, and thus there were no survivors, but somehow, someway, the machine would end up in his possession.

This was where things eventually died down. After the failure to fix it, the machine was left to rot, a sheet thrown over it to shroud the painful memories connected to it. Of course it couldn't be fixed- Gaster's magic that made it work, and with his erasure from the universe, it was irreparably broken. However, this changed when the eighth human fell into the Underground.

The second red soul.

This eighth child, Frisk, kickstarted the machine's process with their determination the first time they used an Ocramid. Time magic was convenient in this scenario, bringing attention back to the machine. As the human created more and more timelines with their RESETs and LOADs, the machine gained more power and eventually alerted Sans to the possibility of everything ending. The readouts... they showed everything, until the end of the Genocide timeline, where the universe was erased by the deceased first red soul.

From the very moment the eighth human fell into the Underground, the machine's use had been destined to change. The interest of the older skeleton eventually rested upon the mysteriously active device from a past he couldn't quite remember, and with this interest, he eventually figured out how to input his own magic. This event usually occurred after the Barrier was broken- or in universes where the Barrier was never created, after the eighth human child had befriended everyone- once the Alpha Timeline of the universe had been decided.

Where Gaster's magic had rested primarily upon illusions and soul magics, Sans' magic laid primarily in spatial and gravity magics, in the forms of teleportation, shortcuts, and telekinesis. With the space aspect added, the machine no longer focused upon timelines, but upon universes. It connected to other active machines in other universes, and limited- _safe_ \- universal travel was formed. Such is how the machine was modified.

"-So, the network of machines connects the spatial aspects of the Sans equivalents through the Void, and allows travel and communication between them all. It is quite a common occurrence for all universes to be connected at the same time, occasionally with one or two cut off due to the human child eventually performing a TRUE RESET, but when it does happen, a special event is usually organized and creates an entirely new universe. This is rare, however- I've only encountered two such cases myself- and most universes follow the usual pattern."

This explanation had been long and detailed, but hopefully you'd kept it efficient enough for your new companion to follow. It seemed you were fortunate in that regard- he had stiffened up from the information overload at some point along the way, but hadn't lost his attentiveness- and best of all, he had questions!

"...so there are timelines where i reached the king and warned him successfully?"

You nodded, but then remembered he couldn't see that, and responded in a cheerful tone of voice.

"Absolutely! I am uncertain as to how many, but likely an infinite amount due to the nature of the multiverse. So don't worry, you succeeded in your mission somewhen, even if not in your own timeline."

The skeleton before you seemed to withdraw slightly, his blind gaze directed off to the side, away from you. To be fair, what you had just told him was a bit of an information overload, despite the manner in which you had cut it down to the essentials. He would probably need some time to-

"can you prove this? that multiple universes and timelines exist..."

A strong sense of being pleased had your perpetual grin widening. _You liked this one._ Of course, Sanses were highly intelligent by design, but most were much more close-minded than this Sans. Perhaps it was his dependence upon others that made him more willing to try understanding that which he did not understand...

"Certainly! Keep in mind that the shortcut will be highly dangerous, but try not to panic if we land somewhere that is so. In the past I have landed anywhere from rooftops, to dumpsters, to cafe tabletops, to lakes, to treetops, to the streets themselves, and many other places. I'll do my best to protect you should we end up somewhere dangerous."

He seemed hesitant, but after that moment of contemplation, stood up and nodded once. Your grin widened again.

"Excellent! For the sake of convenience, your nickname in the universes will be Note. Most Sanses from your universe are called Tone, because your universe is called UnderTone, but you're more unique than any Tone Sans I've encountered. You could even say... more _noteworthy_."

There was a time and a place for puns to be used, and apparently, this was it. Fricken' stars, you closet punster.

"heh heh... ok. let's go."

You climbed free of the comfortable beanbag chair, and after a moment of consideration, reached out to grasp Note's hand closest to you. With a spark of genuine excitement that you hadn't felt for decades, you reached forth into the nothingness, and _pulled_ ~!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick Scenario:
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> You're holding a sleeping child and can't get rid of it. There's a moving thing you need to reach before the time limit is up, and you can't reach it in time by walking. If you teleport, the child will wake up and possibly injure or kill you. Also, you cannot use magic out in the open.
> 
> How do you reach the thing in time without waking up the child?


	14. In-Between a Gun and a Hard Place

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shopping: child acquired!   
> ...Wait, what?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to y'all who commented on the last chapter, one of your solutions has been chosen for future use!  
> Hope ya enjoy this chapter, get ready!

"Ooh, the multiverse likes you, Note. Smoothest and safest transition in centuries~!"

You and your companion stood upon a derelict street, the buildings around you seeming to have been abandoned for some time. There were no signs of homeless people having resided here, and no indications that anyone had done so in the past. However, there was one, small, teensy-tiny detail you hadn't anticipated...

The shortcut had led you right to the business end of a gun.

"Um. Hello, gun barrel..."

You reached over to grasp Note's closest hand, having released it upon arrival, and slowly raised it up with your own in the universal gesture of surrender. Your companion rattled slightly with stress, uncomfortable with the lack of cues from the situation, but raised his other hand in the manner that his first had been.

Several tense moments passed, with the silhouetted holder of the gun remaining motionless... You frowned, and lowered your hands, inspecting the gun's bearer...

It was a decoy.

"Huh, the gun aimed towards us is actually a decoy. We probably took a shortcut into the center of a trap, which means that there are eyes on us in some way right now. A sniper, most likely."

Abruptly giggling at the askance expression Note sent you, the tension of the situation faded away, and you squeezed his hand reassuringly. With a little focus, you teleported the both of you onto a sidewalk several streets away, and began to plan aloud cheerfully.

"Anyways, now that we've been seen in some manner, it gives me the excuse to take you shopping! You need some better pants and a jacket to help blend in with most universes... My cloak has illusion magic woven into it that allows me to change the shape, color, texture, and scent of it at will, and I'll be weaving some of that magic into your clothes eventually. For now, best to simply buy the basics."

As you sauntered down the sidewalk holding Note's hand, you noticed that he was edging behind you slightly. He was acting rather subdued, which was normal for the shy Sanses, but that and the way he used you as a sort of shield made you really want to protect him... It seemed that your hopes of him staying with you had gotten up without your noticing. Tricky.

Scanning the surroundings, you noticed a small toddler wandering by themself, but not much else on these empty streets. Normally you'd stop to help the child- you wanted to anyways- but you had a mission to complete! Traversing the AU's was highly dangerous, and even a small detail like wearing the wrong clothing had the potential to get you killed. Thus, it was of the utmost importance that your quiet companion obtain new clothes.

...maybe you were getting a bit too excited about this.

Spotting a sign for a clothing store up ahead, you entered the building indicated, and paused in utter bewilderment. Note bumped into you, not expecting your sudden stop, but you ignored that in favor of staring at the aisles upon aisles of soup.

_Who even advertises the sale of clothes in a soup store?_

The rest of your questions were answered by a bunny store clerk nearby, as she called out to you in a friendly manner.

"The clothes are through the next door over! Don't worry, lots of people make the same mistake."

You waved in acknowledgement and led Note along, taking care to guide him without being oppressive about it. Due to having never been blind, you weren't certain as to what was too much and what was too little in terms of assistance, but you knew enough about Sanses to know that they didn't appreciate being helpless or appearing weak. Applying blindness to that thought process, you could imagine that your companion would appreciate the assistance so long as it dispelled the notion of weakness, but didn't overstep his sense of control and make him feel helpless. You'd need to talk about this at some point, if he chose to stay with you...

Entering the next building over, you took in the sight of the various clothes racks, and began to search for the men's section. The cat monster clerk seemed to be ignorant of your presence, his attention never wavering from the book in his paws, and you ignored him in favor of leading your companion to a large rack of jackets and hoodies and sweaters.

"Alrighty Note, we have arrived! Feel through these overclothes and lemme know which ones you think are the most comfortable and practical, and I shall help with color coordination once that's done. For now, I will look at shoes and pants."

Silence reigned for a few moments, but when you looked over at your fellow skeleton, he spoke up quickly and quietly.

"i... i don't have to get rid of the scarf, r-right?"

A soft expression crossed your skull, and leaning forward, you hugged him close. He had to bend slightly for the hug to work, but he did so with good nature, and this brought your hooded face close to where his ear would be if skeletons had ears.

"I would never require you to remove your brother's scarf. I know how much family matters, how hard it is to let go of them when there is such little chance of seeing them again... I will not ask you to let go, when I myself still have not done so."

Releasing him, you turned to the nearby racks and began to search for pants, dismissing the moment of stark reality that had just occurred. It seemed that Note had caught on to that, and refrained from asking anything, despite the curiosity burning through his bones. No, he wouldn't ask about your past yet, not until he was used to this multiverse concept. That alone was quite enough to fill his skull for the time being, and with the basic explanation that had been given to him, he would be able to ponder quietly upon it for some time.

A soft rustling sound nearby drew the attention of the male skeleton, and with it being in a direction different than the one you had gone in, he found himself reaching out to locate the source. It was coming from inside the rack of overclothes he had been directed to search through, and he absentmindedly collected a few immediately comfortable selections as he honed in on the source of the rustling. It was... a young kid?

"uh...? hi..."

The kid had gasped upon being touched, and hadn't hesitated to cling onto his arm. They felt small, soft, warm- a very young kid, if the lack of spoken words meant anything- and fragile, yet their determined grip upon his arm told him that they were human... Who would leave a child this young just running around loose? They could hurt someone, they could get hurt- where was the keeper of this kid?

"S... S-ss... Ssaaan...?"

Oh... oh geez. This kid knew him, or at least, knew the version of him native to this timeline. What did he do? Where were you? You couldn't have gone too far, couldn't have left him unsupervised in a universe he wasn't familiar with, right? Geez, he had to do something...

"sorry... but i'm not uh... sans... call me note..."

The toddler holding his arm held tighter, and he began to feel anxiety creeping up his spine, memories of the only human he'd had real interaction with flashing through his mind. Violent cracks of sound and the taste of floating dust flared within his mind, and he lifted up his arm carefully, trying to make the kid let go of him without shaking too much.

"k-kid, i'm not a jungle gym... please get off..."

Chuckling nervously, Note stretched his magic out for any sense of your presence, ignoring the signatures that didn't match up with what he'd felt of your own. The kid clinging to him had a surprisingly strong presence, like that of the human he'd met, and just like that his bones were rattling slightly.

"ok... ok... i'm just gonna sit down, aaaand then you can let me go, ok?"

Mumbling nervously, the male skeleton did just that, and that was how you found him upon your return. Tilting your skull curiously, you took in the scene, and then spoke.

"Huh... that little tyke was outside earlier, just wandering around all alone. Seeing them up close, I recognize them... your counterpart is likely nearby somewhere. Perhaps it would be wise to return the child before doing anything else."

Taking a quick glance at the cat clerk, you noticed that his attention was still upon the book in his paws, and casually opened up the Void to throw in the pile of clothes you had gathered. Quickly taking in the jackets and sweaters that Note had chosen, you tossed those into the Void as well, and closed the opening with an air of utter nonchalance. 

You dirty thief, you.

Speaking somewhat louder than you normally would, you helped Note to a standing position, and took the child into your cloaked arms.

"Come along dear, this store didn't quite have what I was looking for. The search must go on!"

Sauntering forth with the confidence borne of centuries of experience, you led the way out of the shop without gathering even a glance from the clerk. It just goes to show, if you look like you know what you're doing, people generally won't question your actions.

Guiding Note along by linking your left arm with his right, a position which allowed you to also firmly hold the human toddler, you began the search for a native skeleton.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please do not do the shoplifting. Shoplifting is bad. Don't do it.


	15. There Arrived a Peeved Skeleton

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your companion has been kidnapped! Oh no!

The child stared at you, uncomprehending of what you had asked them. You needed to ask again.

"Pup, I need to know where Sans and Papyrus live so I can get you back to them. What direction is their home in?"

They pointed at Note again, and began to whine softly.

"No no dear, that is not your Sans, that is Note. Can you say Note with me? Nooote. Nooooote."

The blind skeleton was listening to this with slight amusement, but was gradually becoming more anxious as the conversation continued going in circles. Suddenly, he had a better idea.

"maybe... we should ask the locals? like undyne, or grillby?"

You tilted your skull slightly to the side, continuing to stare at the young child in your arms as you thought about it.

"Well, in this universe, it is highly unusual and quite dangerous for humans to be seen amongst monsterkind. If we go anywhere crowded, such as Grillby's, we would find both answers to our questions and far more violent attention than we need. This is why you're not hearing or sensing many people around- I have been using a lot of lesser known side streets to avoid the crowds. This child is pretty much a beacon, and while I could hide them amongst my nonexistent guts, maintaining a protective ecto-barrier around them would use more energy than necessary."

As you spoke, you turned the corner onto another side street, your companion following along by the hand he had grasping your elbow. In the distance, a clock tower began to sound the arrival of noontime, its large bells pounded by mallets in a rhythmic pattern. This indicated that the streets were about to become less crowded with the arrival of lunchtime, and you blinked, abruptly recalling that your companion hadn't ate yet.

"Actually, going to Grillby's sounds like a good idea. We will be watched by several members of the mob, of course, but information is information, and I can handle the little tyke for as long as it takes to get in, get food, mingle a little, and get back out. It would be wise to wear one of the hooded jackets and some gloves to hide your skeletal nature, but you don't have to if you don't want to. Your clothes are already _just_ out of place enough that anyone who knows Sans here should think twice about who you are."

Note made a quiet sound of distress at that, bringing his loose hand up to grip at his scarf.

"you... you want me to go in alone?"

You quickly shook your head, and recalling that he couldn't see it, began to speak as you rocked the small child towards sleep.

"No, not at all. I mean I shall hide the child in my cloak while we both go in. We haven't eaten anything in a while, and Grillby's is the most convenient location for multitasking our objectives, so it is logical to proceed in this manner despite the chances of danger."

A rumble of understanding passed through your companion's nonexistent throat, and you nodded to yourself in satisfaction. With the course of action decided, you led Note into a nearby alleyway, and positioned him so he was blocking the view from the street.

"Stay there for just a moment, please."

Once out of sight, you began to leak soothing waves of magic over the child, lulling their already tired body into a peaceful unconsciousness. With their body now dead weight, it was fairly awkward to open your cloak, unbutton your dress, and position them where your stomach would be, but you managed to do so satisfactorily. Lastly, in order to protect the child from jostling and your bones from damage, you formed an illusive barrier around them, making it appear from the outside that you were pregnant once your clothes had been readjusted. This would be an added protection- what self-respecting monster mobster would hit a pregnant lady?

Your magic kept the child comfortable and asleep, and with an arm linked to Note's, you led the way towards the food district.

"If anyone asks, Note, I am your wife of three years, and we met on the other side of the mountain. I currently appear pregnant, so it's socially excused for you to be seen close to me like this, what with your being an expectant father in an unfamiliar place. Mmm roleplaying is so fun!"

Note fought a blush from forming on his skull at the implications, and stuttered incomprehensible phrases for several seconds... before bringing his brother's scarf up to hide his face and giving a muffled okay. Your smile widened mischievously, but you toned yourself down a notch, keeping in mind that he had just met you earlier that day. You really got comfortable with people too quickly...

After wandering a short while, you spotted Grillby's, and alerted your companion.

"Prepare yourself. Jawbone up, spine straight, scapulae set. You are a gentleman of few words, but when you speak, it is with purpose. Don't think too much about it, Note dear, just allow me to lead. Nobody wishes to argue with a pregnant woman."

Making certain that he was ready, you waited a couple moments before entering the building with a hand over the stomach area of your cloak, making certain that the child was secure. Guided along by your linked arms, you noted with a critical eyelight that Note had taken to his role somewhat nervously, but it was too late to stop now. Thus, without further delay, you led the way to the counter and sat down decisively on one of the stools, guiding Note to sit in the one beside you.

"..............What would you like?..............."

The fiery bartender had noticed your arrival fairly quickly- _as he would with unfamiliar faces_ \- and you grinned to yourself.

"Milk please, and whatever my dear orders."

Note tried to avoid slouching as he felt the weight of Grillby's gaze settle up on him, and forcibly calmed himself when you nudged him unexpectedly. The awkward silence was broken before he could order, however, by the door to the bar slamming open and a familiar skeleton stomping in.

"SANS, THERE YOU ARE! I'VE BEEN LOOKING EVERYWHERE FOR YOU! AND WHY ARE YOU WEARING THOSE STRANGE CLOTHES?"

Your companion was picked up by an annoyed Papyrus in a dashing suit, and a somewhat panicked expression appeared on his face as he was carried off out the door. The bar was silent, a curious tension thick in the air, and you quickly- but carefully, mindful of your cargo- hopped down from the stool and made your way after the two.

"Sorry Grillby, perhaps another timeline. Papyrus, do wait up!"

In the distance, you could see Papyrus and Note, the latter of whom had stretched his magic out in effort to keep you in his senses. He seemed very uncomfortable, sometimes moving to try wiggling free of his brother's alternate version, but stopping halfway due to the sheer familiarity of the hold. It was comforting, it was everything he wanted back, but it wasn't _his_ to have. If the Sans of this universe found him like this, who knows what would happen!? He was blind, he only had one HP, and mobsters sounded like they'd be fairly violent.

He could die... so easily...

You had to catch up to your kidnapped companion, but the tall skeleton walked too quickly for you to keep up. The kid needed to stay asleep a little longer though, just until you could return them, and running would wake them up...

You needed to think of something...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, basically when I ask y'all questions in these end notes, your answers show up a couple or a few chapters later on.
> 
> This chapter inspired partially by [This Adorable Comic](https://img.ifcdn.com/images/8f2b44dc946afc778c3cff9cd57f5202a42e88ca65dd3e080a5145c6b2e8db0b_1.jpg)! (Doesn't belong to me, dunno who made it ;-; cri)


	16. But Hey, You Didn't Get Shot!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Official greetings to the Mobtale brothers! Perhaps you'd like to stay the night.

In a flash of inspiration, you considered your magic. True, it was ordinarily unstable enough that you avoided using it as much as possible, preferring to do things physically, but this was an emergency. Thus, you were perfectly prepared to accept the consequences of using very subtle gravity magic to take hold of Papyrus' soul to stop him.

Except, that's not what happened.

The distance between yourself and the tall skeleton made your magic finicky, and instead of gently but firmly holding him in place, it slammed him into the wall.

Stars dammit.

Still, it made him stop in place- whether out of shock or actual pain, you didn't know- and gave you enough time to close the distance between the two of you.

"Papyrus! Hello there~!"

The tall skeleton seemed to forget about the lifted blue magic in favor of looking for the source of the call, glancing left and right and finally checking behind him. His gaze was directed far above you- stars damn your shortness!- so you had to reach up and tug on his free hand like a child. At this he looked down at you with a bright smile and a bruise forming on his cheek- ouch, you did _not_ hit like a pansy- and you took the moment of his greeting to check on Note.

"GREETINGS SMALL CHILD, WHAT CAN THE GREAT PAPYRUS DO FOR YOU?"

Your companion looked okay for now, somewhat rattled but okay, so you began to think of a way to get Papyrus to take you with him...

"I have heard of your legendary cooking skills, Mister Papyrus, and wanted to try your best dish!"

Meh. That'd work.

"ABSOLUTELY, SMALL CHILD! I'M CERTAIN SANS WON'T MIND ANY GUESTS FOR LUNCH, SINCE WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING PLANNED!"

You were surprised when the tall skeleton picked you up in his free arm, and you hurried to thicken the protective barrier around the child. A pulse of sedating magic was sent inwards to help them stay asleep, as you hummed a little soothing melody to both placate the kid and help your companion relax. It seemed to work, as he no longer looked like he was about to... break down.

Poor Note. This was such a rude introduction to a new universe. He should've gotten to experience one of the peaceful ones first, but that's just not what the multiverse had in store.

Huh. While you'd been thinking, Papyrus had entered a building and begun leaping up a staircase, several stairs at a time. It was jarring, and you felt your protective magic around the child flickering- of all the times for your magic to fluctuate-

"Paps, st-st-stop!"

The tall skeleton froze for a split second at your stressed voice, and then made his way up the stairs _faster_ , doing that odd, fluttery floating magic to skip the stairs altogether. This was smoother, truly, but your magic was already fading. It was mere luck that had the three- four- of you in his apartment and on the couch by the time it fizzled out completely.

"Oh dear... that could've been much worse."

Reaching into your cloak, you loosened the corset of your dress and gently lifted the sleeping child out- taking care to keep them hidden as you tightened up the corset once more- and proceeded to withdraw your cloak into a hooded shawl. That had been... stressful... but it worked out in the end, right?

"LITTLE PUP!? SMALL CHILD, WHY DID YOU HAVE LITTLE PUP IN YOUR CLOAK?? AND HOW DID I NOT FEEL THEM???"

You chuckled as the kid began to stir, and adjusted them so their head was resting on Papyrus' femurs.

"I noticed them wandering the street by a quaint little soup store, and they followed my friend and I into the clothing store. They ah... seemed to be quite attached to him, for some reason, but they got tired from all that playing and fell asleep on him. So I decided to keep them safe."

The scrutinizing look that Papyrus gave you seemed somewhat unfamiliar... and soon it faded, replaced by a deep understanding that you couldn't begin to pick apart with such little context.

"NO WORRIES, FRIEND! I'M CERTAIN THAT SANS WILL BE PLEASED TO HEAR THAT YOU TOOK CARE OF LITTLE PUP FOR US!"

A moment passed, then as what he said ran through your skull again, you stared at him with shock radiating from your soul.

"You- but- I thought you thought this was Sans!"

You gestured wildly to Note, genuinely surprised for the first time in years. Never before had a Papyrus shown such behavior- such _awareness_ \- and you began to wonder when exactly in the timeline you had traveled to.

"OH, I KNOW THAT ISN'T MY SANS. MY SANS WOULD NEVER WEAR CLOTHES LIKE THAT, BUT THE OTHER SANSES TEND TO DRESS DIFFERENTLY. I'VE NEVER SEEN A SANS DRESSED LIKE THIS, HOWEVER."

Your nonexistent throat running dry, you swallowed, the shock still not fading from your system yet. This was an Alpha timeline- they were always more difficult to decipher in universes without a Barrier equivalent- and it was one you hadn't encountered before. Not Mobtale. With the child wandering the streets, you had thought it was during the part of the timeline wherein Sans tried to send the child back to the humans, but evidently that wasn't the case...

"P-Papyrus, how long have you been aware of alternate universes?"

Note stayed silent as you and Papyrus discussed back and forth, listening to the conversation carefully. He could feel the shock radiating from your soul, but amongst it was a deep sense of curiosity and wonder that really took the edge off. However long you had spent in the Void- and however long _he_ had been trapped there- wasn't enough to do permanent damage. That was more relieving than anything else at the moment.

He'd felt like he was simultaneously suffocating and breaking apart, in there. That utter emptiness, it'd pressed in and tugged on everything that made him who and what he was, but then you showed up and helped him pull himself together. The lengthy explanation on alternate universes and timelines had given him a lot to think about, a lot to distract himself, and getting out of that nothingness- the _Void_ , he'd been in the _Void_ \- had given him the sensory input he'd been lacking before.

Although, he hadn't expected his first alternate universe to be so... well, _different_.

He could smell the thick, cloying exhaust from motor vehicles, taste the soot and gunpowder in the air, hear people chatting away and birds singing in the distance... And what he could feel, oh geez, he could feel the breeze on his skull and the subtle lack of pressure that'd always been weighing down on him while he was in the Underground. The sky was beyond his imagination like many other things, due to his lack of sight since birth, but he could still feel how unrestricted it was. He could still feel the freedom that came with the open air all around.

There was, however, a thought nagging in the back of his cranium... did those in _his_ universe ever get to feel this?

Startling Note out of his thoughts, the front door had opened and shut rather loudly, someone huffing as they entered the room. The voice speaking was familiar- like a well-played instrument- and he strained his senses to attempt making up for his lack of sight. _Dammit, why did so many things rely on visual cues?_

"heya paps, you didn't tell me we had guests."

It was his voice, yet more confident than his own... must belong to the Sans of this universe.

A movement beside him brought his attention to you, the couch seat giving more beneath his weight as you stood up. You stayed close, perhaps a few feet away, and started speaking again. He didn't know when you'd stopped, having been lost in his thoughts for several minutes now.

"Hello there Sans, your brother has told me quite a bit about you and this... place. A pleasure to meet you again. I am Arista, and my companion is Note."

Your grin remained hidden in your hood as you extended your gloved hand towards the unsuspecting skeleton...

_Pffffft-_   
_Bzzzzt-_

**Dead. Silence.**

Someone snorted, and the floodgates of laughter were opened. Every time the laughter began to die down, someone would just _look_ a certain way, or make a strangled noise, and the laughter ramped back up again. Double pranks were the absolute _best_ thing ever.

"hahahahah, oh stars, i didn't expect that! you're alright kid, you're alright!"

A few more snorts and chuckles were heard, until finally a comfortable atmosphere settled in the room, light and refreshing.

"I'm pleased you enjoy such childish jokes as well. But alas, poor Papyrus is in the kitchen now venting some steam, so he can't ask you if we can stay the night."

The suit-clad Sans grinned in mirth and gestured grandly towards the couch, indicating the form of Note trying to stifle some laughter of his own.

"welp, anyone who genuinely appreciates bad jokes has an integrity you just can't say no to. welcome to scenic my house, enjoy your stay."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are 3 paths in the snowy woods.   
> The left one is cleared of snow and perfectly straight, but very dark and dangerous. The middle one is twisted and covered in suspicious branches, but perfectly open to the above lighting. The right one is very short and leads out of sight, but there are obvious traps within its mediocre lighting.  
> Which path do you take?


	17. In the Company of New Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans gives you "the talk".

"Paps, this is absolutely phenomenal! Forget seconds, I want tenths!"

The tall skeleton soaked in your praise like a sponge, posing grandly and grinning with pride.

"ALAS, I DID NOT MAKE ENOUGH FOR SUCH AN ENDEAVOR, BUT NEXT TIME I SHALL BE PREPARED!"

Noticing that Frisk wasn't sitting in a chair, your sockets narrowed, and you beckoned them over to sit on your lap. Sans watched as they did so, curious about how the kid would react to this... anomaly you were, and how you would react to the kid. Note was familiar- clearly a Sans like himself, albeit a timid one- but he'd never met an Arista before, despite his machine-enabled travels to other Alpha Timelines. How did you fit in to your universe? Who were you to your Sans- obviously you were someone important, if you had multiversal knowledge- and what universe did you come from? And most important of all, were you dangerous?

You were an unknown. That made you dangerous by default. Thus, he needed to keep an eye on you, maybe make a few things clear, make certain that you knew not to mess with his brother. In order to do so, he had to wait to catch you alone, and that wouldn't happen until later that evening. He'd just have to keep an eyesocket on you... but hey, the kid seemed to like you, and that was a good sign for now.

Frisk sat in your lap, and bringing their plate up to the tabletop, you alternated between taking a bite of your own food and feeding them a bite of theirs. They seemed to like the treatment, and you were pleased that the skeletons had already learned how to properly feed the child- if they hadn't, you would've taught them yourself, Toriel be damned. She didn't play that big a role this far into the AU anyways.

Children- especially helpless ones- always got to you. You'd broken your rule of non-interference more times than you could count for a child in need. They reminded you of your own childhood, of the things that your little brothers had experienced before you finally helped them escape... You didn't want anyone to experience such hardship so young, stars damn the consequences.

Still, you couldn't save them all, and had accepted that fact. It was only another distraction from the many failures to find your home timeline, similarly to your vast collection of information stored neatly away in the Void, another... hobby. You needed to sort through that information soon, try to find out if you were forgetting anything important, but providing guidance to Note was the primary objective for now.

Glancing up from feeding Frisk, your hidden gaze settled upon your companion, and took in his mannerisms. Note was eating slowly, his downturned mouth exposed with his scarf pulled down, as though the fine cuisine he was eating was giving him bittersweet memories. Of course- his brother was dead, you could safely assume that by his possession of that flowing scarf- there was no doubt that this was affecting him. How... careless of you.

Finishing up your plate, you helped Frisk finish their own food, before collecting the two dishes and bringing them over to the absurdly tall sink. As you did so, delicately jumping up onto the countertop in order to place the dishes in the sink, you began to speak.

"Papyrus dear, how about I cook dinner tonight? Your cuisine is just so delectable, I wish to serve a dish that can... challenge one's tastebuds, as yours has."

Mob Sans' eyelights cut to you sharply, taking in the ease of movement and the subtle manipulation you used... 

"NYEH HEH HEH!! SO YOU BELIEVE THAT YOUR COOKING CAN OUTCLASS THAT OF THE GREAT PAPYRUS!? I CANNOT WAIT TO TRY IT!"

His brother could take care of himself in this world, certainly, but against someone who really knew him? You seemed to know how to get what you wanted, and you seemed to know the two brothers... closely. His brother wouldn't have let you cook dinner if you hadn't made it a culinary competition, but that was what you wanted, and that was what you got...

You were definitely a threat.

Standing up, the stocky mobster grinned with forced ease as he stared at the lady whose entire body was covered by some article of clothing or another. That was another thing- he didn't know your face yet, and your soul was uncomfortably strange. Heart shaped, it was a human soul, but it had a misty attribute to it that he'd only ever seen on Gaster's soul- he could only make out your color. What trait did indigo even represent? Was it a mixture of Integrity and Perseverance, or a new trait altogether? Both? He... needed a few answers.

So, with careful consideration, he gestured towards your cloaked figure with an easy grin.

"sounds nice. howzabout i keep ya company while pap and the kid show note some of our games?"

You smiled within the shadows of your hood, hopping down from the countertop with a cheerful nod.

"That would be delightful. Have fun you three, and Note dear, do let me know if you want anything."

With a satisfied nod, you watched Frisk run over to your companion and begin tugging him towards the living room, and sent a wave towards Papyrus, who followed. 

Several moments passed, and once the others were out of earshot, you turned your attention towards Sans. He was standing closer than he'd been before, and no longer slouched- perhaps to intimidate or show his seriousness. Either way, you were reminded of your shortness, and pouted as he spoke.

"it'd be nice to have a pretty face to go with that high-class name of yours, y'know. you seem like a reasonably smart lady, one worthwhile to know."

So this was his angle.

"My apologies Sans, but I only showcase my visage when the situation demands it. Not even my companion knows what I look like, although that's more due to his blindness than my unwillingness to show him."

A low chuckle came from the stocky skeleton before you as he stepped forward, but your only reaction was to seat yourself on the edge of the countertop- strategically taking the higher ground available.

"ok, if that's the case... this is a situation, and i'm demanding it. i don't trust people who keep themselves hidden like you... maybe a face would make that easier."

He leaned in, sharpened eyelights barely visible beneath the brim of his hat as he searched the illusive darkness of your hoodie.

"'course, it's your choice. just ah... if you keep on going the way you're going, you might find yourself... _having a bad time_."

You tried to hold it in. His serious face was very threatening... but several centuries removed the fear factor from it.

A small snort of amusement escaped your nosehole. 

You couldn't hold it in.

"Heehee... my utmost apologies dear, but like an ill-aimed arrow, empty threats fail to hit their mark. I don't mean to be rude, but I likely know you better than you know yourself. Centuries of existence spent untouched by the influence of time will give one a good deal of knowledge they wouldn't otherwise possess... so please, child, keep your civility about you. I do not wish to engage in battle with such an unfair advantage."

The tension in the air was thick... one could probably cut it with a knife. Several moments passed- Sans staring into your darkened hood, you staring into his empty sockets- but as the delightful sounds of playing came from the next room over, your adversary nodded and stepped back.

"a'right, the kid trusts ya, so i'll give ya a chance. don't make me regret it, lady, capische?"

A fuzzy feeling lifted your teeth into a pleased smile, and you hopped down from the countertop with a bounce to your step. Your eyelights glowed softly with your pleasure, reinforcing the pleasant emotions you wished to exude whilst remaining hidden behind the illusion of infinite darkness that was present within your hood. As a reward, you gave him a deliberate hint of your past, some tidbit of information that you didn't mind he stew upon.

"Of course, Sans dear, I have no intention of harming you or your family. I understand what it's like to lose everything like that, and would never wish it upon another soul. Now come, we should join the others in their games! They can't keep all that fun to themselves!"

A startled laugh rumbled through the mobster's ribcage as he was grasped by the arm and guided into the living room. Maybe it was that your size made you less of a threat, or your genuine tone that had him giving you this chance. Or maybe, just maybe, he got the feeling you could destroy him... Whatever way it was, he was gonna keep a close eye on you to see if you deserved his trust or not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm hitting writer's block in the future, halp! What would you do after a stressful and daring escape to the Void?


	18. There Came a Brief Respite

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh no.

"TRULY!! THAT DISH WAS ALMOST AS GOOD AS MY OWN COOKING!!"

Your zygomatic bones were lit up bright indigo from the compliments Papyrus was lavishing upon you, and you were somewhat hidden behind Note, unsure of how to take them gracefully.

"N-Nonsense dear, I don't cook nearly as well as you do. I eat chisps most of the time!"

Sans was amused by the display, but as you slid out of sight behind your companion, decided to take mercy upon you.

"heh, hey paps, could you check to see if the guest rooms are ready?"

The taller skeleton was successfully redirected, rushing from the room with a shouted affirmative, leaving the others and yourself to relax on the couch. Frisk was tuckered out from playing games with Papyrus all afternoon, napping on top of Sans, and Note was beside his counterpart having a discussion about universes. You shamelessly eavesdropped, pretending to be asleep, curious as to what Mobtale Sans- and other Sanses around this time by extension- knew about the Multiverse.

While you were, absolutely, more active than most Sanses, you did have your lazy moments. Often, these were times when you'd been moving so much that you'd finally run out of steam, either physically, mentally, or emotionally. That memory you'd had while sleeping in the Void plus the immediately following discovery of Note had been keeping your mind running for some time- _finally, someone else who could understand, someone else who could **remember** you, but what if you screwed this up?_ \- and chasing an active Papyrus whilst maintaining incredibly unstable magic had drained your body. A small rest was perfectly excused... the conversation between the two Sanses beside you could be heard again in the Void... you were fine.

* * *

Slowly shifting back into awareness, you stretched out, and sighed at the feeling of cool, silky-soft fabric on your skull. Several moments passed before you realized that something was wrong.

_The inside of your hood was velvety, not silky._

Jolting upright, your eyesockets snapped open, diamond eyelights scanning the room. There- next to the door, bearing a shit-eating grin- Mobtale Sans was watching you, _observing_ you, a gleam in his own eyelights that was simultaneously calculative and amused.

"heh, didn't expect you to wake up at just a slight tug on your hood."

You reached up, glaring in his direction, and felt for the brim of your hood. It was still on your skull- this angle probably only revealed the glow of your eyelights through the darkness, as the room wasn't currently colored by the burning light of your hair. He was lucky he hadn't seen anything more... what was it with people snooping about your person while you were asleep? This is why you preferred sleeping in the Void. At least _Gaster_ didn't have any reason to go nosing about your person.

"...Child, consider yourself as having... dodged a bullet... by failing to see my face. The Multiverse is a powerful machine, yes, but a fragile one. Your universe is one of the rare few that haven't experienced RESETs to noticeable measures, but I'm certain you're aware of the other universes that have, due to the knowledge Papyrus shared with me. Anyways, continuing with the metaphor of the Multiverse being a machine, consider me an errant gear, or if you wish to take my own actions into play as well as my existence, consider me a wrench."

You adjusted your hood so it was back in it's original position, completely covering your visage.

"I have a very important rule, the only rule I attempt to adhere to. This rule is simple. 'Do not interfere.' Active interference in the timelines messes with the gears of the machine, causing irreparable damage, threatening destruction to countless timelines and universes that would otherwise continue onwards just fine."

The mobster's grin hadn't changed, but a browbone rose at your explanation.

"so you're sayin' that lookin' at your face messes with the multiverse. right."

You could practically taste the skepticism in the air. It filled you with... frustration.

"Essentially, despite the half-incorrect thought process behind such a conclusion, yes. I am an anomaly. I exist and persist outside of my home timeline, which alone causes a snag in the multiversal machine, but the less I interfere with that which exists normally, the less damage the machine sustains. The damage I do cause is repaired by the RESETs, but this universe hasn't experienced one as far as I am aware of; thus, any damage inflicted here is permanent. Theoretically."

Standing up, you brushed off the fabric of your cloak and made your way through the door, heading past the stocky skeleton and into the kitchen. Being woken up so inconsiderately deserved a punishment of some sort, and you decided that punishment would be the unreserved raiding of their food supplies.

Food was an indulgence for you. Living in the Void for prolonged periods of time, the place that is inherently timeless, really makes most body processes incapable of performing. Some such examples would be the inability to die, or the inability to heal, or the inability to age. Of course, these examples are not the absolute rule, due to the Void being beyond true definition or explanation, but they do provide a general guideline. One _can_ still heal or die if meeting certain requirements- which are still undetermined, a woeful blow to your scientist's curiosity- and one can generally eat whatever and whenever there without needing to. Thus, you only tended to eat after traversing several universes or timelines, and had come to appreciate the taste of food as a luxury and not a simple necessity.

Opening the refrigerator and a small hole to the Void, you shamelessly began picking it of various condiments and meal leftovers that you would enjoy, tossing your picks into the Void. Sans, who had followed you, watched with a rather strained smile.

"uh... why are you stealing our food?"

Humming softly, you tossed a gallon of milk over your shoulder and into the Void, before closing the fridge and moving on to the cabinets.

"I'm punishing you for unintentionally trying to break the Multiverse. Not that it won't happen anyways with that colorful Sans wandering about..."

The last sentence was muttered beneath your breath, and as such, you weren't surprised when the mobster didn't react to it. Returning your attention to the food raiding, you started at the cabinet to the far left, and grinned at the various sugary cereals within. Into the Void! Into the Void with them all! Sugary cereal with milk was one of your favorite foods.

"like you said, it was unintentional. can you close that gap in reality though?"

Sans was beginning to get uncomfortable. This lady was treating him like he wasn't a threat at all, and he was one of the most powerful monsters in his universe! Was it cockiness? The way you just casually used the Void to store your groceries implied otherwise. Unless... that was just for show? He couldn't detect your energy reserves- they were hidden by the veil around your soul- and it forced him to err on the side of caution.

"Regardless of intentions, Sans dear, it would all end in ruins. I have seen it happen before, and I will see it happen again. Living in the Void has such effects."

Sans took a double take. You... you lived in the Void? How was that possible? How were you not erased, like Gaster was in those other universes? What... what made you different?

Fiddling with a suspender, the mobster took a breath to begin asking these and many more questions running through his skull, but a crash and a startled shout from the living room ended that plan of action. His pistol was in hand within milliseconds, years of experience having the firearm on hand as rapid protection, present before he even peered through the doorway. However, the gun was lowered slightly, as the shocking sight of two new skeletons met his eyelights. 

You darted past him in that moment, and froze in place, the hole to the Void closing up without your focus keeping reality torn apart. One skeleton before you was new, a grin of practically demented joy present upon his glitching skull, but the other...

"wassup my fine gal-pal, i haven't seen ya since that radical showdown in swapfell!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Choose a number from 1 to 3! Your choices will affect this story!


	19. But the Journey Must Go On

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fresh brought a friend! Surprise!

How. This creepy, colorful Sans had found you, just a couple jumps after your first encounter with him. Granted, it could've taken him years to do so within his individual timeline, but it'd only been a day or two since he'd encountered you! You'd been in maybe two universes since, not counting the Void itself. That was incredibly fast, compared to a few angry Sanses and Papyruses who had tried to find you and never succeeded before their timelines were RESET.

"How did you find me?"

The colorful Sans grinned wider, his sunglasses flashing 'Wouldn't You Like To Know' in blue and yellow words before returning to the 'YO-LO' that was their apparent default.

"easy there home slice, i know i'm da bomb, but i haven't even introduced myself! the name's fresh, as in these funky fresh vibes i've got going. now what's the name of a fine gal like you?"

You stared, your body stiff with suppressed horror and sick fascination.

"I do not think I want you to know my name. In fact, I think I am going to leave now."

Several blue strings sent your way had you dodging sideways towards the hallway door, and you stared at the second new skeleton. His black and red and yellow bones were a stark contrast to all other Sanses you had seen thus far, and you were abruptly reminded that the Multiverse was much bigger than what you had observed and experienced. However, he remained silent, allowing Fresh to continue the conversation.

"brah, that's cold! ya can't bounce just yet! at least..."

A sudden shiver crawled down your spine, and you glanced about the room before returning your gaze to the colorful skeleton before you.

"...not until i get a taste of that fine soul of yours."

WHAT. THE FUCK. 

WHAT THE FUCK, RICHARD.

_You wanted absolutely no part in this._

"Um... My apologies, but I'm afraid that I must pass on that _interesting_ offer... Perhaps another timeline."

Where was Note? You couldn't leave him behind. If you did, you'd probably never see him again. Dammit, where was he!?

Glancing around again, you saw a large array of blue strings straying about the room. They wavered, constantly shifting as though in a breeze intangible to all else, and originated from the glitchy, black boned skeleton. A burst of curiosity had you directing a question back to Fresh.

"Well, I have your name. What's the name of your friend?"

This seemed to annoy the glitched skeleton, as he finally spoke.

"Ę̴̛͞r̸͟͏r̨̨͢͠òr̡͝,́͢ ̛́͡à̴̴͟͝n͏̵̡͟ḑ̢͘͢ ̶̸̡́̕d̵̵ǫ͡n̶̸̴̵'̶̢͘ţ̶͡ ̀͘͟ỳ̢̨̕ó̶͠u̕̕͘͏̶ ̡͟f̵̧̡́ò̶̕͝r̵͜͠g͘͞ȩ͜͡t҉̴̀ ̧́͠i̛͜t̵̕͝,̸̷̨͟͡ ̶̵̧̧̢g̵͢l̨̛͟͏i̷t̛̛̀͞c̸̸h̡̛͟͡.͏͢͜͢"

Stars his voice sounded painful, like seven different kinds of audio interference given amalgamated life, yet was still understandable. You'd ask how it was possible, but you figured that it wasn't exactly the time to discuss the logistics of how magic skeletons functioned. With a name like Error, it would probably make even less sense, anyways.

Note. You needed to find Note. The mobster Sans was behind you, still watching, and most Sanses knew how to talk in hands... right? Hopefully this was one of them.

**"If Note is out of the apartment, cough once. If he is in the apartment, cough twice. If he is safe, clear your throat after you cough."**

You signed behind your back, and waited, having no choice but to trust him. To make your silence seem less suspicious, you very deliberately tilted your head, as though you were inspecting the two unusual skeletons before you. (You were, but it wasn't your primary focus.)

"T̷̴ą̸͘͜k̵̶̕͞e͘͠ ̸̢̨̀͘a̷̶̧͞ ̷̶͠͞p̨í̡͝ct͢͡ú̸̡͟͞r͏̀é̷͠,̢͢ ̷̡̧͞ì͘͜͢t̶̛͘'̧́͘͟l͏̢l̷ ̧͜͡l̸̡̨͞as̶͠t̸҉ ̵̧l̢̀ó̴̢͞͞ń͡g̢̨̕͜͡e̕͟͞r͝ ́͡t̶̸͜h̵͡ą̷̷̧̀n̶̴̡͠ ̷͢y̧͞ò̶̵̧͢ų͘͘͞ ̧͡w̷̷͟͡į́͢͞l̷̡͘͞l̸͘͟.̨"

Well, it certainly seemed that the glitched one was in a bad mood. That was an unfortunate thing, due to the lone two quiet coughs that came from behind you. Note was in the apartment, and wasn't safe. Where!?

"My apologies. I was fascinated by your appearance. I'd ask if the inwards look matched, but I'm hardly so forward."

Flustered, he was distracted, success- you scanned past him more thoroughly and saw a bound Note wedged behind the couch, with only his gagged skull in view. Stars, he looked terrified. You definitely needed to get him some nice cream or something to cheer him up after this. Unfortunately, you had two unfamiliar- untested- Sanses in the way...

"Say, you two gentlemen wouldn't mind a beverage of some sort, would you? Sans here has a decent stock- I should know, I just stole half of it."

What were you doing? They were here threatening you, and all you did was ask their names and offer them a drink? What the hell? You were definitely an anomaly. Just a glitch in the system, one that needed to be destroyed sooner rather than later.

"soda for me and mah bro, fine sistah!"

You grinned with a bemused twinkle to your eyelights, leaving the room to enter the kitchen.

"I̢̨ ̷͢͠á̢͘͜m̵̸̧̡ ́͝n̛̕͜͜͝o͏̡̛́͟t͡͝ y̛͢͠o̢͘͞ur̛ ̨͘͞͝'̸̀͢͢͝b̨̕͝r̴̵ǫ̶͜͝'̡͟͡,͟͝ ͏͘̕ý̷͘oų̸̕͡ ̸̶̶a̸̧͠͡b̵́͠͏̡o͏̸͢͡͞m̢̧͢͡i̛̕͟ǹ̶͝͠͞a̕͘͢͡͝t̛͜͜͞ì̛͘͠on̨̕.̷ ͏̛̀͘͞G̸̢e͜͢t͏̧̨͘ ̶̴͝a̵̡̕͢͞w̴̸̧͡͡a̡͜ỳ͞ ̴̵̢͠f̶́͟͠͡r͢͠͡o͏̵̷͜m̷͏ ͘͜͝m̛͏̛͡ȩ̸̡͝.̶͟͡͡"

The situation was dire. Your companion was held hostage at the hands of an enemy with unknown abilities- those strings were a form of blue magic you'd never seen before- and you had grown rather attached to his company. Leaving him behind would likely be a death sentence, or you'd probably never see him again... but... it could be for the better...

No, you shouldn't even think like that. Stop it, right this instant. You were the first experiment and protege of WingDings Gaster, you had knowledge that ranged beyond sane comprehension, and you were more powerful than you knew what to do with. (That's a lie, you knew exactly what to do with it. Stalking. Glorious, glorious stalking, all for the higher purpose of keeping yourself from going insane.) You could deal with two unknown Sanses for a short period of time.

Returning with five glasses of orange soda, you placed them on the coffee table and took a strategic sideways seat upon the armrest of the couch, facing the two odd Sanses with the Mobtale Sans still lurking by the kitchen doorway. From the corner of your right eyesocket, you could see Note, and you carefully kept an eyelight on him as you served the soda.

"Sans, do come over here and have a glass if you're not going to do anything. You're being a rather rude host just standing there and staring. And Error, kindly release the poor sod you have tied up behind the couch. That looks to be both quite uncomfortable and a hindrance to communication."

Assertion. If you cannot openly engage the enemy without defeat, perform with enough subterfuge and cleverness to bluff your way to victory. Showing assertion and an utter lack of wariness gives pause to most rational opponents as they try to figure you out, but it is merely a delay tactic. A further plan of action would be necessary to escape unscathed...

Of course, that little delay tactic? It only worked on rational opponents. Judging by the table abruptly flying towards your face, Error was apparently very _irrational_.

"I͏͡ ̴͜D̸͟͠͞I͘͢͟D̶̢N̨̢'̴̨T̷̨̨͜ ̸̨͡C̷̨O̸̴͡M̛E̛͜͠͠ ̸̶̛͟͞H̸̸̸͢Ę̴̷R̸̸̨̡͝E̶͜ ̶T̷̀̕͘͝Ò̴̴̧͝ ̸̷͘P͝͏̵L̢̀͡A̷̷͠͏͘Y̸͟ ̢̢͘͘͞͞H̴̷͘O͠͏̵̡Ų͜͝͡S̕͞͡E, F̶̛́͞Ŕ̛E̴S̴̴͠͠H̴̡͟͟!̕͘͞҉ ̷̨̧͝I̶͟͟͡͏ ̡͘͢͠Ç̶̡͢͢A͏̶̕M͏̶̀E̢͡͞ ̵͏HER̶̀͢͞͝E̶̸͠ ̢̢TÒ̴̕͜͠ ̶̢̧͠͞D̴̸̡͝ES̢̕͜͞T̸̢̢̛͢Ŗ̸Ó̀Y̸͜ ̢̨͢T̢̛͝H͜I̧͠S̢̢ ̵̷͟҉L̷I̴̴̛T͜͢͠T͟͠͠Ĺ͡E͏̧͞ ͟͞͏G̶̕͜͏L̴̶̢ITCH͜ ̕͟Y̶͝O̸̢̧̕͘Ú͝͞ ̸͟B̧͘͝E̡̢G̀͠G̷̢̛̕͜E̛D̕̕ ́͠M̕͢͜Ę ͘Ţ̀O҉̧̡͢͞ ̶̀͠͞͠H̶͢͜͠͡E̷͞L̶̴̵̨P̛ ̕͢Y̶̨̡͢Ǫ͜U̵͏́͜ ̸̸̕F̴̨̧̀̕IN̛̕͢D̕͢͞͞!̶̶͏̡"

Huh. So that was how Fresh found you.

But how did _Error_ find you?

...That was a mystery.

"totally uncool act there, broseph. wastin' good soda like that."

You took the opportunity of their infighting to hide behind the armrest you'd previously been seated upon, and began inspecting the strings keeping your companion bound. But first, a quick whisper of reassurance and apology.

"Don't worry Note, it's me next to you. Terribly sorry this is your introduction to alternate universes... probably should've just shown you one in the Void rather than jumping straight into things... I'm going to get you loose, perform a daring escape, and then you can decide whether you hate me or not. First, first to focus on the strings..."

A violent crash from the other side of the couch had you take hold of Note's shoulder and teleport the two of you out into the hallway. Hopefully the two weird Sanses would keep fighting while you got the strings off-

The strings were already removed. What? Teleporting with things attached brought them with you! What kind of blue magic was that?

"I̸͏́ ̷̛́͝D͘I͝͝Ḑ̧̨͝N͡'̶̀͜͡T́͏̛ ̸̸͟S̢͜À̧̢͝Y̵̷ ̡͘Y͏̕͜͞Ǫ̴̨́͘U͜͢͞ ̸̧̡̡Ć̸̴́́O̷̡̢͏́Ư̢͟LḐ͡ ̴̧̨͘͡L͠E͏́̕͟͢A̵̶̸͘͡V̸͜͢͞E̕͝͡,̀ ͠͠Ỳ̨̢͞O̧̢͜͏̢Ư͟͢ D̷̀́̕I̸̧̨̕͜Ŕ̵̶̢͢Ţ̶͡͝Y̷̧͏ ̕͟͞Ģ͜Ĺ̢̢͞͡I̡͘T͢C͟H̶̕̕͘ES̀͜͟͡!̡͜͢͟͡"

_Shit_.

"I'm sorry Note, I'm sorry Note, brace yourself!"

You took a firm hold upon the slightly bigger skeleton's ribcage and femurs, and without any better options, sprinted for the window at the far end of the hall. Your companion was- fortunately- calm enough to hold on tightly and not struggle as the door to the hallway was blasted open in a burst of confetti, and you drew upon that calmness to perform your final acts in this universe.

A firm footing was obtained, and you leapt towards the window carrying Note, turning mid-jump so the glass shattered against your spine rather than that of your companion's. The sight of strings spearing towards you as you free-fell gave you the stimuli necessary to _pull_ at the edges of reality, and upon seeing Mobtale Sans watching you from another window, you called out a final apology before landing in the Void.

"I'M SORRY ABOUT YOUR WINDOW~!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Danke all of you who voted in the last chapter <3 I just wanted to let you know that the vote did not go towards this chapter, but one in the near future. You'll know it when you see it.
> 
> Anyhoo, name a character to visit the duo in the Void! Any character from any universe, go for it! (Be aware: both will be passed out, and the visiting character will be speaking with Gaster.)


	20. In A Mess of Emotions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Opportunity never knocks twice.  
> ...  
> You open the door.

Emptiness.

You wouldn'tve thought that the Void could be such a comforting place, but here you were, taking in the expanse of nothingness with a growing sense of relief.

A snort escaped your companion's nosehole, and his frame shook with repressed emotion. After a few moments, laughter was released, and you joined him, feeling as though you'd just dodged a train wreck. The nervous, relieved laughter continued for several moments before dying out, and you began to feel the guilt from earlier settle in.

"Note, I would like to begin my three part apology by saying that you are a beautiful person who did _not_ deserve that to be his introduction to alternate universes-"

A skeletal hand covered your teeth, and although magic would've allowed you to keep talking, you took the hint and immediately shut up. The guilt of failure saturated your bones, giving you the reflexive compulsion to make it up to one you had failed. It was a conditioned response from your childhood that you hadn't felt in a long while, due to not actively having had anyone you didn't wish to fail, and right now it wasn't entirely unwelcome. You felt that you deserved a punishment of some sort.

"arista, you did great... that was- if I'm entirely honest- very dangerous and terrifying, but you got us out okay... i-i think i just need to relax a bit before we go to another universe..."

Note released a final chuckle as he reassured you, thinking about how the events of just a single day had managed to get his world tumbling down around him.

The human child, the one that had given off that aura of hate and had killed countless monsters- and attempted to kill him too!- was the first crack in the wall. That a kid was powerful enough to destroy an entire race without a scratch... that alone was a horrifying thought. With the knowledge of timelines, and the realization that the kid could control time itself, he really wouldn't be able to do anything against them. He was the weakest monster, 1 HP, the easiest enemy. What could he do but talk to the kid and hopefully provide a distraction for Asgore to escape anyways?

But, he hadn't had the opportunity to follow that path. In other timelines, sure, but he wasn't the him that existed in those alternate possibilities. He was the version of him that was ejected from the timeline, banished from his universe before he could react, the version of him that was _different_. From the explanation of timelines and universes you'd given him, he'd been trapped in an endless loop without any recollection beyond simple déjà vu. The idea of living that... of going back after that...?

Note could never go back. Not with this knowledge tearing down the preconceptions of reality he'd had before. If he got home and went through a RESET now, after being... touched... affected... infected... by the Void, and remembered what he'd learned, it'd destroy him. He could never go back to that.

With that settled, his only option was to move forward, and his best course of action in this was moving forward with another. His blindness hindered him much more than simple, romanticized fanfiction would imply, and he needed someone else to help him survive. Previously, it'd been his brother- his amazing, energetic, caring brother- but even returning to his own timeline wouldn't bring his brother back from the dead. 

He... he couldn't bring his brother back... so he had to rely on someone else.

You made a good candidate for this, from what he'd seen. The painfully familiar magic in his brother's scarf guided him closer to you, as though he were being watched over from whatever afterlife monsters went to, and it seemed as though you needed someone to rely on just as much as he did. Centuries, learning this new sense of reality alone? It was a wonder you were still mentally sound.

Well, _mostly_ mentally sound. Offering drinks to people who just attacked you was kind of crazy. But it worked...?

A quiet hissing sound brought Note's attention to the headset he'd gotten from his bro, a sense of dread building in his nonexistent guts as he began to fiddle with its settings. Nothing but static... the magical headset was damaged... Could it be repaired?

Removing the headset, he ran his phalanges over the frame, perpetual smile drooping as a deep crack became apparent. Pressing into the cracked casing revealed several wires loose within, and a low sigh whistled through his teeth as he turned the device off, attracting your attention.

"Is something wrong with your headset?"

Well, it seemed he couldn't hide it.

"yeah, it's damaged... got a crack in the casing... heh, probably took the hit for my skull and saved my life or something, like everything else my bro gave me."

He looked more anxious than a simple headset or memento would evoke, and you wondered why. Yes, the headsets of UnderTone Sanses were gifts from their brothers early on in life, but that alone didn't stir such anxiety. Something else about them... why did they exist?

Ah! 

You were suddenly filled with GUILT.

"That helps you see through sound cues, right? I can't fix it myself, I'm not an engineer like Alphys and her father were... but maybe I can help you see another way?"

What were you doing? Illusion magic in the way you were offering required contact with the soul to directly affect the recipient's senses, and you weren't about to ask this kid who just met you to give you his soul. You didn't even know if you could trust him- _but your experience with Sanses said yes_...

"how?"

Stars. You still wanted to help him, dammit.

"Well, a long time ago while I was still in my home universe, I noticed that when illusion magic is imbued in objects, it interacts strangely with the environment depending on its purpose. And I was thinking, what if I imbued some clothes with illusion magic, and connected it to a specific sense of the body? For example, gloves connected to the sense of touch, or a blindfold connected to the sense of sight? I experimented a little bit, and found that while it does work, it requires a direct magical connection between the imbued object and the soul. The gloves I wear now are a result of this research, although I keep them disconnected most of the time, as damage sustained to them causes ghost pains in my phalanges and carpals and metacarpals. I-I could show you how the connection works, imbue an accessory of your choice for sight or hearing, teach you how to connect?"

You were rambling, nervousness present in the way you rapidly explained yourself. The inner nerd was showing.

"...is that really possible?"

He... didn't shoot down your idea.

"Yes! Absolutely. I've tested it myself, and as long as the imbued object isn't connected to your sense of touch, you won't feel any pain if it's damaged. I'm not sure how well it will function for anyone who isn't me, because I have illusion magic and I'm familiar with the way it works, but it's worth a shot?"

You were just full of surprises, weren't you? Centuries of life had given you a lot of experiences. How much did you know? How much could one person even remember before their memory banks were full? Did you recall the experiment properly? Could he trust you not to damage him further?

Could he even _be_ damaged further?

...this was worth a shot.

"heh... i'll try it. let's use a blindfold... or glasses... or a sleeping mask, that'd be hilarious."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's try to cure Note's blindness, shall we? It's the least we can do after basically causing the destruction of his bro's most useful and cherished gift.
> 
> Vote on a scale of 1-10 how successful the attempt should be! (I'm not telling y'all whether 10 is the best or worst, muahahaha >;3)


	21. The Soul of Illusion is Revealed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Note gets a glimpse of your time as Gaster's protege. Then?  
> The final decision is made.

"Okay, you haven't seen before, as your magic hadn't developed enough to form the sense of sight. From the feel of things, your magic is still weaker than it should be, but it's strong enough to work with. I'm going to give your magic the push it needs to learn how to see, and then we can figure out how to proceed. Now, hold out your hand, and the process will begin."

Taking a deep breath, Note asked himself if he was ready yet, and slowly held out his hand. The way you had described the procedure had put him at ease, but he was still nervous... His phalanges shook slightly as he gathered a small sphere of his magic, and nodded.

"Relax... it won't be painful at all. All you have to do is keep steady, and learn..."

The sudden surge of energy in his palm tore a gasp from his teeth- he was holding your _soul_ \- and his awareness began to drift...

* * *

_**"Ah, Zero, I see you are working on a new experiment. What has grasped your fancy this time?"** _

  
_You smiled at the scientist, aware that he was attempting to shape you into something other than a failure, and appreciating the manner that he did so. Being an assistant with your own experiments was much preferred to being a mere test subject... even though he still called you by your project designation._

_Your hand was still bare of a handplate at this time._

_"Hello Doctor, I was just about to test these imbued objects for their secondary properties. Ever since you taught me of how your own magic can be imprinted within items, I decided to test it with the unique soul magic you gave me, and found the resulting object to possess strange qualities. Repeating the process with varying objects, I found that each possessed an odd reaction to environmental stimuli, and have begun to notice a pattern."_

_Several objects had been laid out upon the table, ranging from silverware to food items, and more. Each seemed to be utterly ordinary upon first glance, but as the scientist checked them with a quick magic sweep, he was surprised to find that his... protege's experiment held interesting possibilities._

_**"Continue."** _

_Grinning, you picked up the fork- the closest object- in thickly gloved phalanges, and began testing for abnormal properties. These tests consisted of poking and prodding with both physical and magical stimuli, and the results were somewhat inconclusive. The fork began to melt and bubble into the shape of a spoon, but when an attempt was made to turn it back into a fork, it stubbornly refused. Whatever could've caused such a reaction would not be discovered for several experiments more._

_"Metal seems to reject the illusion magic after so long. This was observed in a few previous experiments. My theories upon the matter focus primarily upon elemental composition and a variation on the currently observed decay ratio of magically comprised items to time."_

_Continuing to the next object, you removed your protective gloves, aware of the slightly disapproving stare of the scientist behind you. Most of the following objects required the stimuli of direct contact, however, and you were fairly certain that they wouldn't cause any damage should things go awry._

_A single phalanx tapped the blank white puzzle piece before it, and from the point of contact, a burst of color washed through the whiteness. It seemed random at first, but after a few moments you spoke aloud the color you were thinking of- lo and behold, the puzzle piece was matching the colors you were naming._

_"This is essentially useless in terms of necessity, but it provides a decent aesthetic proposition. Changing the color of something at will would work wonders to one's wardrobe or home, but too much of such a thing would eventually cause economical issues."_

_Moving on, the puzzle piece remained the previous color you had set it to, and a curious tap from the scientist had it changed to black._

_**"...an interesting concept."** _

_The next item, a plastic PVC pipe, lay in wait. Without hesitation, you grasped it and picked it up, humming thoughtfully as it began to condense into a sphere. With your other hand, you pinched a section and tugged, pulling the plastic apart as though it were taffy, molding it into the shape of an open hand on a stick._

_"Heehee, plastic has promising properties. Why don'tcha try to give it a high five?"_

_The scientist stared at the hand for several unamused moments, just long enough to make you sweat, before aiming a slap at the fake hand. However, to his surprise, his own hand went through it, as though it didn't exist. When approaching it slower, his hand made perfect contact with it, and his eyes lit up bright purple._

_**"It acts as the opposite to a non-Newtonian liquid... When force is applied to a non-Newtonian liquid, the liquid acts as a solid, but when less force is applied, it acts as a liquid. This reacts to force the opposite way... are you certain there is no orange magic in this?"** _

_You nodded, a proud grin stretching your perpetual smile wide as you set the plastic hand back down on the table._

_"Precisely! Imagine the uses for such a substance! If you're feeling particularly sly, it could make up a false door, camouflaged perfectly into the wall around it. The only thing required for passage is a running start."_

_You wiggled your browbones playfully, knowing the doctor's penchant towards secrecy and lightly teasing him for it. The look he shot you was less than pleased, more calculative than anything else, but there was just the tiniest bit of amusement that made you consider the endeavor a success. With a mental congratulation to yourself, you moved on to the next item- an oddly glowing bowl of monster candy._

_"You are aware of how monster candy has a distinctive licorice flavor, correct? Well, with illusion magic applied, the flavor changes! This bowl is non-licorice flavor. Nothing else can really describe it, other than non-licorice. Wanna try one?"_

_You held one out to the scientist, and knowing his preference for licorice flavored candy made his reaction far more amusing than it should've been._

_**"...when this experiment is over, those candies are being sent to the Ruins, out of sight, amongst our past, where they belong."** _

_A giggle was suppressed, and you nodded, moving on to the final item to be tested. It was an oddly textured fabric, coarse on one side and covered in fluffy fur on the other, with a couple Velcro straps present for wearing. Picking it up, you rolled up your sleeve and strapped the fabric to your forearm, allowing the magic in your body to synchronize with that within the sleeve. A moment of concentration brought your soul from your body, and a tentative connection was forged between the fabric and your arm._

_The scientist stared with fascination amongst his appalled expression- you dared use your very soul for such a flippant experiment?- his brilliant mind puzzling through the possible applications of such a dangerous act. You watched this with some apprehension, and nervously held out the faux-fur covered arm._

_"By connecting this with my magical sense of touch via the soul, I can feel everything done to this fabric as though it were being done to my own bones. There are monsters within the Underground who have lost limbs to humans, fallen or pre-Barrier, and magic like this could restore them! It was designed off of the base ability of skeleton monsters to detach limbs and still retain connection to them- if a prosthetic limb were made for a monster lacking one, this magic- our magic- would allow them to connect with the limb as though it were truly their own!"_

_The scientist brushed a hand over the fur of the fabric as he thought through this idea, and your ribcage rattled slightly at the resulting sensation. The fur truly felt like it belonged to you, but it was a new addition, and you were unfamiliar with the impulses the stimuli provided. You abruptly felt like a child showing a drawing to their parents in search of approval, and that feeling remained in the back of your mind as you waited for the scientist's opinion..._

_**"This, perhaps, is the greatest breakthrough you have engineered, Zero. You may continue."** _

_Your eyelights brightened up, changing shape to form four-pronged stars that rotated within your sockets with the glee that coursed through your body._

_"Thank you doctor! I'll look for applicants right away!"_

* * *

Note shuddered slightly as he came back from the vision, his unseeing sockets blown wide with shock.

"that... that's what seeing is like? you live with that all the time? and that experiment- what- how did- did it work?"

You laughed slightly at the startled expression on his face, keeping an eyelight on the sphere of energy in his palm to make certain your soul wasn't dropped before you could reply.

"Easy there... relax... and yes, that experiment was a resounding success. The blueprints left behind in the lab after my disappearance were even used by the next Royal Scientist, as she designed an eye-patch for the Royal Guard Captain who had lost her eye to the fallen human soul of Justice."

Noticing the way your companion's ribcage was rattling, you reached forward and gently placed a gloved palm on his skull, giving him something more physical to focus on. He took a deep breath, and spoke a little slower.

"s-so... that's how undyne can still see fine... but alphys told me she designed the eye-patch to work with the pre-existing visual stimuli, to provide only the input of one eye based upon what the other eye saw... i've never seen before, how would that work for me?"

You smiled with slight uncertainty, and reached up to take down your hood. It was already down, however- must've fallen sometime during the escape from Mobtale.

"I'm not certain it will work, but by viewing that vision through my soul, your magic should now be at least somewhat aware of how to see. However, you've trained your senses to see another way- through music and sound cues. At worst, the imbued headwear would translate surrounding objects as music, the way your magic is used to. At best, you would start to see again. Is that acceptable?"

Several moments of thought passed, and with a final hesitant nod, the decision was made.

"Excellent! You recall feeling how I connected to the fabric in the vision, yes? All you have to do is connect the same way..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alrighty everyone, hand in your feels slips, it's time for me to stamp them good and proper.  
> *holds up a stamp with an evil grin*


	22. And The Past, Forgotten, Repeats Itself

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ...what have you done?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now an interruption to the regular posting schedule because this author is too excited to wait until tomorrow xD
> 
> * * *
> 
> FOR ALL Y'ALL WHO VOTED 3 IN CHAPTER 18, CONGRATULATIONS, YOU CHOSE THE WORST POSSIBLE OUTCOME xD  
> THEN IT'S TOPPED OFF BY THE RED AND BLACK INTENSITY RATINGS, ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS x3  
> Fortunately Note will not die, because like 2 people voted for the best possible outcome. You know who you are xD

Note sat in a comfortable chair, wires connected from the outside of his skull to two large, circular, magically imbued lenses from a pair of glasses. The glass lenses were large enough to comfortably fit within Note's eyesockets, where they currently were positioned. It was decidedly safer to begin the procedure now, before over thinking could occur- while the margin for error was thin, there was always the chance it could go wrong, and you wouldn't take that risk. You were being as cautious and precise as you could, and soon, everything was ready.

"Alright Note dear, are you prepared to start?"

No. He wasn't.

"yep. so i just focus my soul energy on the wires, right?"

He wasn't ready. What if it all went wrong?

"Correct. Remember that once we start, if there is too much energy in the loop, the wires will be overloaded. You will need to cut off the flow completely if you wish to stop."

Okay. It was okay. He could do this. The risks were very much worth the reward- even blurred to shit sight was better than no sight at all.

"let's get to the point, then."

He needed this to survive... to live without being a burden...

"Countdown. Take out your soul in 3... 2... 1..."

Almost too late, a burst of energy had his soul out of his chest and in his palm, hovering shakily with the anxiety crawling through his magic. Fortunately, the shaking subsided as nothing else happened, and Note began to relax.

With his soul out, his body loosened up a bit, going slightly limp in places as extraneous feeling was lost. Everything he was, everything he had experienced, everything he had felt and could feel at this moment was on display for you to see. The spade-shaped monster soul was small, but bright, glowing clearly against the backdrop of nothingness that the Void provided. A few tiny scars were visible here and there, stress lines from traumatic events that had been resolved, but it shone in hesitant defiance against being snuffed out. This was not a brave soul, no, but one with the patience to wait out the hardships that came its way.

"Splendid, you're doing great so far, Note. Next step, begin to direct a thin line of magic from your soul to the wires. The wires will automatically form a connection between the lenses and your sockets, and sync up the energy within the lenses to the natural energy of your body. Only use a small amount of magic to do so."

Your voice was soothing, confident, and relaxing. Note was able to follow this step with... well, not ease, but trust that you would be able to help if anything went wrong. His magic began feeding into the wires, lighting them up a dim, uneven cyan blue.

"Good. The flow is uneven, but that should correct itself with time as long as you stay calm. Now, maintain the connection between your soul and the wires until I tell you to stop- and whatever you do, don't fight the illusion magic coming from the lenses."

Don't fight the illusion magic and keep calm. That was easy, right? Note wasn't in any danger, he was safe. There was nothing restraining him here, nothing keeping him from stopping at any time. He could say 'no' at any time without worrying about any consequences... but he didn't want to fail you.

_Monsters grew attached so easily._

The wires around his skull began to glow slightly brighter with his determination, and more energy flowed into the lenses. As a result, the magic coming from the lenses felt strange and foreign, somewhat rushed as it intermingled with that of his own body. The lids of his sockets twitched at the sensation, scraping against the wires holding them open and sending a painful twinge through his skull. His magic instinctively rushed forward to fight the sensation, pushing against the energy in the lenses, but he tried to pull it back with a slight panic.

Keeping this sort of scattered control over his underdeveloped magic was... very difficult.

"Easy there, easy..."

You noticed the imbalance forming in Note's energy and removed your gloves, laying bare phalanges on the parts of his skull that were exposed by the wires. These phalanges glowed a soft green as you introduced healing magic into his system, in attempt to soothe his nerves.

"Do you wish to stop? It isn't wise to proceed if you're struggling."

A moment of hesitation went by, and you began to prepare for stopping the procedure, but the voice of your companion brought a pleased smile to life.

"no, l-let's keep going. i trust you."

Yes, he trusted you. How could he not, after you saved his life twice now, and allowed him to hold your soul? His attachment to you was almost unhealthy- he'd only met you yesterday, but everyone in his home timeline was dead. Who else could he rely on but the one who'd saved him from wandering the Void eternally and treated him with nothing but kindness?

"As long as you're certain you can proceed safely. Now, continue allowing the illusion energy to mingle with your own. Draw back a little on your own- it's beginning to strain the wires."

With a nod, Note began trying to pull back his own magic, but a snag was hit. He couldn't pull his magic from the wires while keeping his soul connected to them. The loop... the loop was incomplete, had cut off at some point. Where was the broken end!?

"Note, you need to relax... You can stop, and we can try again later."

He, he couldn't find it. Where did the loop get cut off? When did- there it was! The lenses, his magic had started rejecting the illusion magic. That could be fixed, he just needed to relax.

"Cut the connection. Note, cut the connection!"

No, no, he didn't have to. He was taking in the illusion magic fine now! It was fine now, he was doing fine-

"SANS!"

...

Everything stopped.

...

Slowly, too slowly, Note became aware of the massive surge of energy burning through the wires.

...

The loop had been restored, but too late. The blockage removal allowed the energy building at the lenses to run loose, melting and fusing their metal rims to the insides of his sockets as the errant energy bounced within his skull.

...

A loud _POP!_ was heard, and all of a sudden...

...

 _he was screaming_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick- Christmas Party AU or Aftertale!?


	23. In a Race Against Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You must act quickly. Note's agony is on your hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here, have just a few more feels before this mini-arc gets wrapped up >;3
> 
> Feel absolutely free to make fanart btw I would love to see how you guys picture the characters n stuff <3

As the energy surged faster than you could absorb or redirect, you were forced to watch... as half of Note's skull exploded.

_Then, the screaming began._

People couldn't die in the Void.

But they could still feel _pain_.

...

They say that fear is the lack of understanding, whilst horror is understanding perfectly...

...

It was horror that pulsed through your very being as you watched Note begin to thrash in agony, the wires incinerated by the surge of energy. Cracks led from the sides of his sockets to missing temples, and cracks spread out from the missing temples to the entirely absent back of his skull...

_DON'T JUST STAND THERE, DO SOMETHING!_

You jolted in place, suppressing the horrified shriek that wanted to come out in favor of manifesting illusive hands to keep Note from thrashing. He kicked, screamed, wept, struggled, but you held him firm, preventing him from damaging himself further.

Dammit, why didn't you see this sooner!?

The screams attracted Gaster, who watched with a sickening smile upon his cracked face. You ignored his useless presence in favor of calling a small blaster from nearby, sending it out to collect pieces of Note's _skull_ -

dammit, Dammit, DAMMIT!

WHY DIDN'T YOU STOP HIM WHEN IT WAS FIRST GOING WRONG!?

Ignoring the bile threatening to rise up your nonexistent throat, you climbed onto the chair and stood with your feet to either side of Note's femurs. Bare phalanges grasping the base of his skull, you let your eyelights spread outwards and glow as brightly as you could make them, burning away the mental anguish and redirecting the physical pain as best you could. The damage was severe, lethal had it been taken anyplace else, but he couldn't die here- you just had to keep his pain down and comfort him until all the pieces of his skull were brought back.

"Note, Note dear, Sans, it's okay, you're gonna be okay. You hear me? Just focus on my voice. You're going to be okay."

This really brought back bad memories. Shaking your head, you made your ringed eyelights glow brighter, forcing the images of your babybones brothers on a metal table out of your mind. You could dwell upon your failures _later_ , right now you had to _focus_.

After a sympathetically agonizing wait, the small blaster returned with a mouthful of skull shards, and poured them into the waiting palms of two manifested hands before zooming off again.

Without hesitation, you were piecing the broken shards together like a jigsaw puzzle, running a bare phalanx charged with green magic over the cracks to seal them together. As your energy reserves fell low, you put the stolen monster food from Mobtale to good use, using another manifested hand to feed yourself as you maintained your heavy magic output. The skull pieces came together under your diligent hands, and the screaming of your companion faded as his magically manifested voice grew hoarse, his own hands gripping tightly to the by-now-broken armrests of the chair.

Gaster watched in fascination and amusement at the hasty lengths you went to for your companion of one day, doing nothing to help or hinder the process. This wasn't because he was an inherently evil monster, no, but rather the him from UnderFell was currently in charge.

You had figured out long ago that Gaster, in the Void, was one entity. There were not multiple Gasters running about the nothingness with broken souls; instead, they acted together as though water had been poured into more water- completely indistinguishable from the rest. However, sometimes certain core aspects of one particular Gaster would come to the surface of the whole, and this was what occurred at the moment Note began to scream.

_UnderFell Gaster had taken immense pleasure in the pain of his test subjects, and this situation you had concocted was... absolutely delectable_.

As the agonized cries of the skeleton so similar to his son began to fade away, the core aspect that was UnderFell Gaster began to do likewise, until the concern of the overall scientist could finally be felt and acted upon.

**"My dear, you are applying yourself too much. This type of heavy output cannot be sustained without lasting consequences. He cannot die here in this situation, so slow down before you hurt yourself and become useless to him."**

You heard the genuine concern from the scientist, and a quick glance at his cracked face revealed the absence of his previous amusement, so you decided to listen. The pained cries of your companion had died down to hoarse gasps for breath, his movements weak from sheer exhaustion, thus you calculated that you could release several manifested hands to cut down on your energy output without causing any damage. No doubt, he was exhausted from this... it was a wonder he hadn't passed out. 

"Note dear, can you hear me?"

A quiet whimper answered that question, and your bones rattled slightly in sympathy. But, you needed to do this.

"I've got most of your skull back together. There are a few pieces missing, but the pain should dull drastically even if I only put back this part. If I do this now, any other pieces found will be more difficult or impossible to replace, as your magic will attempt to seal the cracks immediately. Do you want me to wait or proceed?"

There was little hesitation despite his exhaustion.

"do it... now... please, now..."

With a solemn nod, you gently guided the semi-constructed skull piece into its proper place, using manifested hands to keep his skull perfectly still as you did so. Fortunately, you'd pieced it together quite nicely, and the chunk slid smoothly into place. A phalanx charged with green magic sealed the large piece in place and kickstarted the healing process, a groan of relief escaping your companion as the missing chunk was back where it belonged. However, as you said, there were a few shards missing around his temple area, cracks starting at the outer sides of his sockets and curving upwards and outwards almost like mirrored sixteenth notes...

The irony almost made you want to cry. Well, that, and the guilt.

"Note... I'm sorry."

Abruptly feeling the magic drain from your heavy energy output, all manifestations were dropped and your eyelights died out completely, your flickering hair barely the size of a candle flame. Your form shook slightly as you began to climb down from the chair, but bony arms around your cloaked ribcage had you seated beside Note. You couldn't find it in yourself to argue the choice, choosing instead to close your bone lids and drift off to sleep with the weight of guilt-wrought failure accompanying you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick Scenario:
> 
> You walk into a room that is utterly trashed, with furniture smashed and spaghetti splattered everywhere. Sans is somehow asleep on the ruined couch, and Papyrus is staring at the spaghetti like he's proud of it. Toriel, Asgore, and Alphys are outside the room and unaware of what occurred within. Chara and Undyne are standing in the middle of the room, covered in spaghetti and whoopie cushions, with weapons armed and ready for battle.  
> The question is... why are Chara and Undyne crying?


	24. There Occurred an Unheard Conversation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Watch out, we got a stray skeleton on the loose! And he's coming this way!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the late update today, the power was out for hours xP

"uhh... hello?"

A slightly drunk skeleton had been wandering the expanse of the Void, searching for a new friend that had gone missing. Imagine his surprise when he came across two sleeping skeletons in a chair with broken armrests, surrounded by various scientific equipment and sheer nothingness.

"this isn't something i expected... oh! hey gaster, what's up?"

The Void's first official resident made himself known to the young and lost skeleton, an expression of amusement present upon his melting face.

**"Hello Sans, I see you couldn't find who you were looking for."**

The short skeleton scratched the back of his skull, laughing quietly to himself.

"heh, yeah, but it seems like i found something else instead. what's the story with these two?"

Gaster's form melted slightly, and with a hand gesture and a little magic, two chairs were summoned from elsewhere in the Multiverse. He took a seat in one, and gestured for the Sans to take a seat in the other, waiting until that was done before starting.

**"Well, if you refer to their current state of unconsciousness, that was due to an attempt to cure blindness out of entirely unnecessary guilt for an unrelated situation. The female skeleton has laid witness to such an experiment in the past, and sought to recreate it by combining it with a past experiment of her own... but the Creators deemed it to fail."**

Peering over the sleeping female skeleton, the young Sans abruptly sat up, staring at her.

"wait, gaster, isn't that your daughter? in my universe, i mean. i've seen her around the lab- she isn't really involved in the time travel project, but works with you and dr. betas on a lot of other projects."

The Void being laughed, and laid a condescending hand upon the younger skeleton's skull. Sans swatted away the hand and glared at the man for several moments... before joining in his laughter.

**"In most universes, she is. In others, she is not. However, no matter the universe, she technically doesn't exist anymore... not any version remains but this one. The Sans beside her is unique as well, being the only one who has taken a shortcut to the Void and not been able to return before the tear closed. To all who know them, they have simply vanished, never to be heard from again for as long as their timelines last."**

Sans stood, adjusting the green sweater he wore and setting down the red mug of spiked eggnog on the arm of his chair as he did so, then approached the two unconscious fellow skeletons. His gaze was sharp despite the faint buzz of alcohol present throughout his magic, but it took several moments of inspection before he could formulate his thoughts to be spoken.

"theoretically speaking, they shouldn't exist at all, being here in the void. none of us should, yet somehow, we do. does that mean we don't exist as long as we're here, and that we come back into existence when we leave? is that why the theoretical occupants of this place are lost to the memory of those outside of it, or is there another reason? in a situation like this with so little information, there can only be more questions than answers."

Regarding the odd cracks in the skull that was in the alternate version of himself, Sans performed the basic test that was known before the scientific method was developed... the 'poke it with a stick' test. Oddly, despite the seeming emptiness that met the eyesockets, his distal phalanx made contact with a hard and smooth substance. Pressing down lightly and peeling open a bone lid revealed that this substance was glass, or some material similar to it, but further inspection was withheld by a groan coming from the subject of said inspection.

Stepping back, the young skeleton observed as his alternate resumed sleeping, and stared closely at the glass-filled cracks and sockets in the skull before him.

"fascinating. you said that this occurred from an attempt to cure blindness... was it a success?"

A slow grin appeared upon the elder scientist's cracked face, as he stood up, lifted the red mug of the younger skeleton, and banished their two chairs back from whence they came.

**"That still remains to be... ahaha... seen. Do not think to replicate this experiment, however. The child would have died had it been performed anywhere else, and you do not yet possess the capability to traverse from your own timeline to this place. It would be best if you forgot about this for now, and returned to your search for that alternate-universe crush of yours."**

A flood of magic lit up Sans' zygomatic bones, and he readjusted his red glasses as an excuse to cover his face.

"sure, sure, i'll leave these two be for now, despite the crippling curiosity that is sure to haunt me for the rest of my days. edge does take priority at this time. mind showing me the way back to the party?"

With a pleased smirk, the Void being placed a couple manifested hands onto the upper back of the inexperienced Sans and began leading him through the nothingness, away from the sleeping duo.

**"Worry not, little scientist. As soon as your timeline comes to its pivot point, all that curiosity shall vanish into thin air."**

The slightly drunk Sans, guided to and abandoned by the doorway to the party, was left to wonder whether that meant his questions would be answered... or forgotten.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I'm starting to hit some writer's block speed bumps in my flow. This is gonna be troublesome.
> 
> Longer comments fill me with inspiration, so don't hesitate to yap my face off! I feel like I'm starting to get into the poor quality territory with my chapters, so constructive criticism and new ideas are welcomed!
> 
> If you have any questions or predictions about the story, feel free to comment them! I get ideas pretty easily from questions and theories =)


	25. But Time Stops for Nobody

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Note and you meet a new... friend?

Groaning quietly, Note began his return to the waking world, brought from unconsciousness by a voice conversing in the distance. However, as the voice faded away, his tired awareness was left to focus upon other things, such as the throbbing pain in his skull.

"what the... ugh..."

An attempt to bring his hands up to cradle his skull brought his attention to the warm weight of the person beside him, and it was upon closer inspection of his environment that his memory of the procedure returned.

"that... it went wrong..."

The damaged skeleton stood up quickly, bringing a bony hand up to his cracked temple as a wave of dizziness surged through him. A low groan stuck in his nonexistent throat, but he kept quiet, standing as still as possible until a sense of stability returned to him. 

Stability... balance. Being blind had affected his sense of balance compared to normal monsters, but somehow it seemed... better?

_But the procedure failed, didn't it?_

It was his fault. He'd panicked, let his stupid anxiety push him beyond reach again, and the pain surging through his skull with each step was his punishment. No doubt you were disgusted with him now, upset at the very least, and he needed to do something about that before you woke up.

You'd used so much energy on him. What did that mean? Monsters grew attached quickly, yes, but you were different somehow. It was as though you'd known him for years, and had greeted him like an old friend.

It suddenly struck Note that he didn't know much about you. If he wanted to understand your actions and the reasoning behind them, he'd have to find out more about your past. There was nobody else here though... and he couldn't risk trying to force a shortcut, the likelihood of ending up someplace dangerous and dying was far greater than actually finding any information relevant to you. The only thing he could do was ask you himself, but he couldn't just up and do that out of nowhere... 

Maybe there was something amongst the stuff you'd collected. They were close by the area you'd made your home, right? All he had to do was find it, hopefully without breaking anything- oops.

Heh, this all sounded like the beginning of a bad joke.

A blind man walks into a tray of expensive lab equipment, searching for a place he's never seen before. The lab equipment falls, and the glow of magic flares up in the eternal darkness of his vision as he attempts to catch it...

It's not very funny.

Now there's expensive stuff on the floor. Look at what he's done. Or, uh, feel it. He has to feel it, sadly.

Amidst the self-deprecation, Note suddenly realized that wandering the Void by himself was asking for trouble, and froze. How far had he gone? He couldn't hear your breathing anymore. But the tray of stuff- he had to still be close, right?

Reaching out for the tray, Note failed to make contact with it, and that was when he knew he'd fucked up. Any direction but the exact direction he came from would lead him away from you, but something told him that staying still wasn't an option in this oppressive place... he had to try finding his way back. 

Dammit, why did he just go wandering off with his thoughts? 

As the stocky skeleton cautiously moved forth, he became aware of two things simultaneously. One, his brother's scarf was guiding him someplace, and it felt important. Two, the sound of a hollow breeze was becoming apparent, as though he were approaching a steep cliff and standing upon the very edge. A few steps later and the sound stopped, but the tugging of his scarf continued on just a few more meters... then stopped.

In the silence, Note became aware of someone's breathing, and frowned to himself. It was too heavy and deep to be yours, and originated from someplace closer to the ground than a chair... perhaps they were sleeping? If that was the case, he had to decide whether this was a bear he wanted to wake up or not. A quick inspection should be sufficient.

Reaching out to touch the breathing thing, your companion found himself in contact with a soft material for just a few seconds, and then abruptly smashed face-first into the ground. This was not good for a healing skull, and that was made apparent to the other being by the drawn-out groan of pain that came from the downed skeleton. However, that didn't matter- the being had a few questions that needed answers.

"what the hell? how did you get here? you're not... who i was expecting."

Note, the precious child he was, lifted his head slightly with a tiny grin, and asked a couple questions of his own. The lazy drawl of the other being gave him away as a Sans...

"you'd hit a blind person? now that's just mean. oh, and call me note. what's your nickname? we both know you're a sans too."

Shit. Maybe that was a bit too cocky? Note blamed the throbbing pain in his skull for removing his usual inhibitions...

"heh, call me geno. so what brings you to my little corner of the void? did the human kill you?"

Your companion's smile froze, but he climbed back up to a standing position, grasping his brother's scarf with one hand and massaging his aching skull with the other.

"they tried... succeeded in a sense, with my removal from the timeline... but from what i understand, my human was different from yours. you've never seen me before, have you? and i don't remember meeting you before now."

A hand on his shoulder assisted him back to a standing position, and released him shortly after. This Geno seemed to be somewhat apprehensive about meeting another Sans, but hid it well enough that Note couldn't tell at all... leaving him with the impression that Geno was as laid back as he was. The puns did nothing to discourage this idea.

"nah, _eye_ haven't seen you around. guess you could say i'm _blind_ to everything outside my timeline. that makes you quite the surprise... so, mind telling me how you got here?"

Was it just him, or did Geno's voice lower somewhat threateningly at that last sentence...?

"uh... i'm looking for a friend... we ran out of energy after trying to fix my blindness, and i woke up first and accidentally wandered off... why?"

The low hum of magic filled the air, and Note's headache slowly grew worse, indicated by his phalanges pressing into one of the glassy cracks. His sockets felt warm... which was saying something, considering that temperature usually just goes right through skeletons.

"heh... you came to the wrong place, bud. any friend of gaster is no friend of mine."

Suddenly, Note felt the urge to duck, and did so just in time. The air disturbance from the attack whooshing by told him that he'd just narrowly avoided death, and a shiver rolled down his spine as he straightened up again. His voice as he spoke next was nothing less than incredulous, and the slightest bit sassy.

"since when was gaster a female skeleton shorter than us?"

Fortunately, before things could escalate any further, the familiar rhythm of your footsteps sounded through the area, coming to a halt beside your companion.

"Note dear, it's very dangerous to wander the Void on your own like this. You're quite fortunate I know of the AU's residing in this place. Now..."

You turned towards the attacking skeleton, folding your arms and staring with flattened eyelights that had rotated ninety degrees with your anger. With your hood still down, your displeased features were on display, making clear your disdain for the skeleton with the slightly-melted skull.

"I expect an apology, Geno. Repeating timelines is no excuse for acting so uncouth."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now for a rare and threatening double davis number vote!
> 
> First number: 1-6!  
> Second number: 1-10!
> 
> Choose wisely ;3


	26. In Search of Adventure and Pain Relievers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fight! Maybe...? Or not...? That's cool too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In other words, why can't you ever enjoy a meal at Grillby's without getting interrupted?

"you want me to apologize?"

A decisive nod confirmed this, as you drew your cloak up into its shawl form. The angsty skeleton across from you caught sight of your striped leggings, and a snort of disbelief escaped his nosehole.

"look, kid, i don't know what timeline you're from, but wherever it is, things work differently here. i'm not apologizing for attacking a threat after what i've been through."

Your perpetual smile became a little bit strained, but you kept a mostly even tone as you spoke... although there may have been a bit of sarcasm that snuck its way in there.

"Yes, someone who is standing a good distance away, can't see you, and hasn't summoned any attacks is a massive threat. Absolutely, it must mean that the illusive grass beneath your feet is planning an ambush soon. One better burn it before it does so."

Geno peered back and forth between you and Note in disbelief, stuffing his hands in his pockets to prevent himself from doing anything stupid. The temptation to act, however, was growing stronger with each added word you said.

"To be entirely honest, dear Geno, you're not the only Sans who has undergone horrific events. In fact, you haven't even experienced the worst events that most others have. Dying from a Genocide Run? So many have been there and done that, it's not even amusing. I'm proof that timeline memory isn't enough to drive one insane, and so is the Sans still in the standard plane of this universe, so there goes that excuse. You have no good reason for being so rude."

A hand was removed from the jacket pockets.

"heh, now who's being rude? belittling traumatic events of someone's existence is pretty darn rude if you ask me. how would you like to experience dying in the way i did?"

You raised a single bone brow in skepticism, and brought your hood up to cover your skull once more. With one gloved hand, you made certain that you had physical contact with Note somewhere, preparing to dodge any attack that could come your way...

"fortunately for you, that can't happen right now, with the kid off playing the peaceful savior of the underground. but, i can still send you there, have the sans and kiddo down there show you a bad time. you're in my world now, not yours, and i've got friends on the other side."

The skeleton in red and white snapped his fingers, and a flash of blue light overcame your vision as he activated his remote teleportation. How troublesome... and amusing. Sending the two of you into Snowdin was an unexpected action. How would he make Frisk and Sans attack you, though?

When the light faded, you glanced over at Note and saw his free hand pressing into the front of his cranium. He had a pained expression, as though the teleport had aggravated his injury, and his mouth was downturned... shit.

"Note, how does your head feel? Should I use more healing magic?"

He tugged his hand free from your own and waved you off, staying quiet as his sockets sparked with odd purple and cyan magic... After a few moments, he seemed to have recovered, and rested his hand on your shoulder.

"n-no healing magic, for now... maybe some food instead... grillby's..."

That was right! The two of you hadn't gotten to enjoy that meal in Mobtale due to Mob!Papyrus skele-napping Note from the barstool, and hey, since the two of you were already in Snowdin...

"Certainly, we're right by the Shop and the Snowed Inn right now. We can go to Grillby's right now if you don't mind the risk of being confused with the normal Sans of this universe."

A moment was taken to consider the possibility, but Note didn't really think it through before nodding in agreement. He just wanted a burger cooked by his best friend at this point, after such a shitty yesterday, and the way he started guiding you along towards the bar really told that more than anything he could've said.

Making certain your companion didn't bump into anyone as he led you along, you hummed a relaxing melody, knowing that his home universe was strongly music based and hoping that it would help him. You didn't stop humming until both Note and yourself were inside and at the counter, at which point a fire elemental with a curious tilt to his head asked what the two of you would like to order... He totally recognized Note as a Sans. You were sure of it.

"Two burgers, please. And if you have any, some-"

The order was cut off by the doors opening, and a familiar skeleton stalking up to the counter beside you, staring at you and Note with an expression of curiosity... and was that dislike hidden in there? Huh. Maybe Geno made good on his threat.

"nah Grillbz, don't bother taking their orders. i got 'em. come on you two."

Wow. You'd never seen a Sans interrupt someone's meal like this. Papyrus absolutely, Undyne definitely, but Sans? He usually respected the call of food more than the other pivotal monsters of the Underground.

...there must be something serious going on.

Not wanting to be the start of a senseless fight, you nodded in casual agreement and took Note's arm in your own, humming again as Sans led the two of you out of the bar. Surprisingly, he wasn't taking you to the woods to be shot (haha), but instead to his house, right through the front door. You took a seat on the faded green couch within the main room, tilting your head at him curiously... wondering just what his plan was. The sounds of Papyrus banging around in the kitchen indicated that he wasn't planning any violence, which piqued your interest quite a bit.

"Geno said he was going to have you and Frisk show us a bad time."

You decided to get straight to the point. It surprised him, if the raised bonebrows meant anything at all.

"heh, nah, he just doesn't like other versions of us that don't take his experiences seriously. sends 'em to me for a little talking to so he doesn't go dunking anyone."

Now it was your turn to be surprised. You leaned forward a bit, filled with curiosity, but you didn't ask any questions regarding how his knowledge on the multiverse slipped past your awareness. The pained grimace upon your companion's skull took precedence to such unimportant questions- he sounded terrible when he next spoke.

"sorry to interrupt, but have any good food? my skull feels like its about to burst... again."

You flinched slightly at the reminder, and withdrew into the saggy cushions of the couch, allowing Sans to go search for food unmolested. The guilt of that failure would probably rest on your soul for quite some time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pssst... how much do you guys wanna see a fight go down? Rate your desire for violence from 1-10 with 1 being "meh" and 10 being "dayum dat LOVE tho".


	27. There Came the Human, Curious and Sweet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello, human!  
> ...  
> Sans asks a question.

Papyrus burst into the room with several plates of spaghetti balanced on his bony arms, still dressed in his pajamas. Evidently it was early in the morning, if the pair of... underwear?... shorts?... he wore as a sleeping cap indicated anything, but he'd gotten up at his usual time. From what you could recall, Papyrus equivalents generally didn't actually sleep much more than three hours a night, which made their boundless energy even more astounding.

As the tall skeleton passed out the plates and left the room, his brother stared at you and Note warningly, as though silently warning you to not hurt Papyrus' feelings. This must be during the Pacifist Run then, and due to the lack of human sighting, it was likely that they were still in the Ruins. Then again, it was early morning, so it was also probable that they were at the Inn.

A slight sniffle from your companion quickly brought your attention to him, and you looked over to see a sad smile on his face. What was... oh, he'd taken a bite of the spaghetti. Was it that bad?

"heh... tastes like home."

OH. Welp, somebody here's an idiot. Time to start babbling like one.

"I never got to know the spaghetti of my Papyrus. The last I saw of him before ending up... outside my universe, was getting him and Sans out of the lab. He was still pretty much a babybones, only a little taller than Sans, and it was one of _those_ universes... the misguided-slash-questionable Gaster type. I'm not certain what happened to them after I got them out..."

Feeling a sadness settle over your soul, you stared at the spaghetti, twirling a few strands around the fork you'd been given. Looks like breakfast this morning was a hearty helping of feels and regretti spaghetti.

"Is it bad that I want to pretend like this spaghetti is his? I've been elsewhere in my home universe, so I do know that he makes spaghetti like the Classic him, but I've never encountered the right timeline... Everywhere I've been, people didn't know me, even the Sanses. Gaster is usually still remembered by the Sanses though, and I ended up the same place he did, in better condition than him even! The Sans from my timeline would remember me, thus the lack of memory from all the others indicates that they're not the correct timelines. Haha... I'm talking too much, sorry."

You elegantly shoved a bite of the spaghetti into your mouth, effectively shutting yourself up, and took in the flavor of the culinary creation. The weighted stares of the other skeletons rested heavy on your shoulders, and you turned your head, studiously ignoring them as you took another bite.

"i didn't know it meant that much to you... you're usually so happy and cheerful..."

You chanced a glance at your speaking companion, and smirked slightly within your hood, forcefully shoving down the sadness that was trying to strangle you into a weeping ball of misery.

"Welly well well, dear Note, it is one of my many fabulous characteristics to bounce back almost instantly. Likely a side effect of the LOVE I have."

A cleared plate clattered to the floor loudly, and you peered over in that direction to see Sans standing up and staring at you. A tension rose in the air, and you could feel him trying to read your stats... tension permeated the room the longer he kept trying and remaining silent.

"Sorry, but I don't let people read my stats in such a rude manner. I do appreciate your desire to protect your brother, of course, but please at least try to think before you act. Not everyone with LOVE is dangerous. In fact, adults can even obtain EXP just by being near somebody when they die, due to their true comprehension of death and what it means. Children lack such capabilities, and your experience lies only with children... well, primarily one child, which is actually even worse. Where has your scientific drive for accurate results gone, hmm?"

Your casual manner visibly affected the two Sanses listening, and it seemed as though your companion was about to ask a question when the door was suddenly flung open. Crashing into the wall loudly, the door caught everyone's attention, and revealed Undyne charging in with the human under her arm.

"WHOOOOO! Cooking with the human was AWESOME! MY HOUSE TOTALLY BURNED DOWN IN THE UNSTOPPABLE FIRES OF PASSION OF FRIENDSHIP!"

...who gives cooking lessons this early in the morning? Apparently Undyne does.

Beneath her arm, the kid was smiling wide with excitement, their eyes seemingly squinted shut from the force of their grin. As they waved in greeting to Papyrus, who rushed in from the kitchen, they peered about the room and paused when their gaze landed on you and Note... Wriggling free from Undyne's hold as she spoke with Papyrus, they wandered over and began to inspect the two of you, waving a hand in front of Note's skull when he didn't seem to follow their movements.

"Hello child. Might I inquire if you are Frisk or Chara?"

They visibly startled, stepping back a pace and staying there for a few moments, before hesitantly bringing up their hands to sign.

**"I'm Frisk... how did you know about them?"**

Grinning slightly, you were tempted to bring up your own hands to sign back, but decided instead to continue speaking aloud for Note's benefit.

"I've visited several universes, little one. There is much that I know, and much I do not. The infinite Multiverse is filled with innumerable possibilities and realities, after all, and centuries of existence outside of time will give one a vast range of knowledge."

Yup. It was official. You were a total sucker for indulging the curiosity of children. The stare you could feel leveled upon you by Sans was considerably lighter than it had been before though, so there was that benefit.

**"Wow... how many universes are there?"**

You grinned in delight, picking up the human and holding them in your lap. It was an amusing sight to see, what with the child being slightly taller than you were, but you paid no mind to the amused snort coming from the Sans nearby.

"I myself have visited hundreds- the Multiverse is infinite, after all. Although I don't quite understand them all, it is somewhat easy to discern what universe I am in by a quick survey. Environment comes first- monsters and dust and blood and other bodily fluids are helpful in determining the basis of the universe I've stepped into. Next I check the human- usually it's you or Chara, but there are the other six souls and Aliza to take into consideration. If I can't make a solid conclusion from the human, I check the skeletons, and then everything is usually resolved. It's a simple process once you get used to it."

The look of wonder upon the child's face made your explanation worthwhile, and the attentive presence of your companion made it convenient so you didn't have to explain things again.

**"What universe is this one called?"**

You peered over at Undyne and Papyrus, making certain they were still in conversation, but it seemed that they had left the house. Probably for some training or something. Either way, it cleared you for open conversation, given the fact that the Sanses of this universe were already aware of other timelines and universes.

"This universe is based upon the Alpha Universe, branching off at the end of a Genocide Run and spanning countless timelines onwards with Geno watching from the Save Screen-slash-Void. The name it was given is Aftertale, although I'm not certain who names the universes... their names simply come to mind when one first visits and discovers various unique qualities within them. I have several theories on this matter, but most are too expansive to cover in basic conversation."

Taking another bite of spaghetti, you seemed to remind the others of their own plates. Note started eating a bit faster than before, and Sans teleported his plate into the sink, if the clatter from the kitchen indicated anything. A full plate of spaghetti was nearby- evidently Papyrus had known the human was coming over, or just hadn't bothered to eat his own plate- and Frisk was given claim to it. This silenced their hands, but there were certainly others willing to ask questions for them, evidenced by Sans' voice... and the question he asked was very unexpected.

"you said you couldn't find your own timeline... would you want any help finding it?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reading your comments and listening to SharaX's Undertale Remixes fills me with determination! Highly recommend if you haven't heard any before.


	28. And Then The Help Arrived

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three helpful skeletons arrive! Note does a thing~

You stood before the machine in the basement lab of Sans' house, alongside the skeleton himself and your companion. He'd given you a deal, one you were just ~~desperate~~ curious enough to accept, with a suitable escape route should you be displeased with the results. There were other Sans equivalents with whom he kept contact with, others that were getting their machines ready to take a nice walk over to this neighboring universe... it was strange.

It was strange, relying on others to help achieve your goal. But, Note had convinced you to do so with a very striking argument- you'd tried this alone without results, so why not try it with others? Truly, it was worth at least one shot, if nothing further.

Watching the machine at work was different in person than it was through windows in the Void. In action, it was much louder than it had seemed and so very _existent_ , the sheer magic presence of its activation being practically oppressive. Note seemed dazed by its proximity, and you were beginning to suspect that the failed procedure had given him a greater sensitivity to magical energy, due to his reactions to its usage and avoidance to your healing magic... but you were certain that he would tell you what was wrong in due time. Thus, you were able to continue inspecting the machine at work with nary a care in the world.

With the loud crack of atoms suddenly coming into existence where there previously were none, a skeleton appeared before the machine, looking like he just stepped out of a greaser movie. Skinny jeans, boots, black leather jacket, cigarette, cracked skull- here stood UnderPatch Sans, his single yellow eyelight lazily scanning the room and settling on the native Sans. Moving out of the way so other skeletons could arrive, he made his way to the Classic version of himself and leaned against the counter, a smirk forming on his jaw.

"sup classic me, how's the weather down there?"

Ah, height comments. Always good for breaking the ice. _Not_. You pouted slightly where you stood, the smallest skeleton in the room.

"heya patch, same as usual. why don't you go say hi to the reason you're here?"

Ooh, was that a hint of sass in there? Respect, dude, respect. A nod of approval was sent Sans' way, and it drew the attention of Patch, who sauntered over and crouched down in front of you with a look about his skull that you did _not_ like...

"hey kiddo, heard you needed help finding your way home. how long've you been lost?"

Yes, he was treating you like a literal child. Normally you'd be uncaring towards how you were treated, but this was different- this wasn't just a pleasant jaunt through a universe that would be easily forgotten. With the presence of multiple Sanses, there would be a lot of information going around, and there was the tiniest probability that a RESET wouldn't occur in one of their universes... Haha, you still desired to be remembered.

"Long enough to be your great-times-ten-grandmother in terms of human age, child. Living in a dimension without a natural progression of time will do that to a person, but I'm certain you know that already, mister Void Expert."

He visibly withdrew, standing up and taking a respectful step backwards out of your personal space. An awkward flush was present on his zygomatic bones, evidence of his embarrassment at his wrongful assumption.

"sorry... you're arista, right? i recognize your voice from memories around the lab... sorta. you're not really existent in my universe anymore."

Hopes risen, then crushed almost immediately. How two sentences can do that to a person is astounding. You nodded in response to his question, and turned your attention to the machine as another skeleton arrived.

Hands stuffed into the pockets of his integrity-blue hoodie, loose black sweatpants tucked into his blue and white sneakers, you prepared for the imminent blow to your hope. It was Dancetale Sans, looking over everyone from beneath the hood of his sweatshirt, and you didn't dare ask if he remembered you. True, his machine was active when you'd visited him, but the timeline could've been totally different than when you'd encountered him. Travel through the Void had that effect.

"heya hip-hop, welcome back."

You moved slightly behind Note, allowing your shawl to return to its cloak form as you withdrew. This was noticed by all the Sanses present, but none of them acted on it, choosing to overlook the odd action out of some sense of understanding and remorse. Fortunately, before anything else occurred, the machine brought forth another Sans, and promptly powered down into standby mode. It seemed as though this was the last expected guest.

There was a lot of pale brown on this Sans' outfit, like tanned leather or a fresh canvas, prevalent on his scarf and shorts. A sash crossed his torso with many capped bottles of paint, and around his pelvis, his pale blue hoodie was tied loosely. Like a Papyrus, his arms and legs were covered in black cloth, but had blue lines trailing down them in a geometric pattern until the black cloth cut off to white bone. He was noticeably shorter than Classic and Note, but still taller than you- if you had to guess, you'd also say he'd be taller than Blueberry Sans- and his eyelights changed both shape and color with every blink of his bone lids.

"Hi, I'm Ink! Nice to meet another Multiverse traveler! I've been watching your adventure, but my brush was stolen before I could ask you any questions, and I was stranded in UnderFell."

You froze.

"heh, does error still have it?"

He'd been watching you? And he knew Error? And he actually spoke with uppercase letters? Huh... He spoke in the Cambria font.

"Have what?"

What.

"still forgetful as usual, i see. c'mon, let's go upstairs, paps made enough spaghetti to feed an army this morning."

The voices were blurred to your thoughts, and when Note made to move towards the door, you grasped the back of his sweater without entirely realizing it. To those outside, it seemed as though you had simply frozen- not even your cloak moved in the breeze from the opened door- but your mind was going on at a breakneck pace trying to make sense of the recent events.

First, Patch seemed to know you. That'd never occurred before, even during past visits to his universe. Second, Hip-Hop _didn't_ seem to know you. That'd been expected, but still hurt a lot... he'd promised to remember you. Third, this Ink Sans also traveled the Multiverse, and had been watching you as you did so. What kind of person does that and doesn't say hello once or twice? At least you mingled freely with the occupants of the universes you visited.

Note, feeling you stiffen up behind him and hold him in place, tilted his head slightly to pay closer attention to you as the other skeletons moved along. Your breathing was slightly off from its normal rhythm... not enough for you to be hyperventilating, but still enough to be noticeable. Against his spine, he could feel your clenched hands shaking slightly, and came to the conclusion that you were overwhelmed by the situation. Heh, that was understandable- he was practically overwhelmed himself at this point. The bombardment of information and unexpected surprises stressed him out, but you being stressed out too made him feel a bit better about it, and guilty at the same time for having that thought. Maybe that was why he tried to recall how you'd calmed him during his first time in the Void. 

Reaching back to your frozen form, he managed to get you in front of him, and began to try moving his magic in the pattern he could faintly recall you doing so before. His sockets burned as he did so, both of them- whereas before he could only recall one burning- with an intensity that almost surprised him. It was as though his instincts knew what to do with only that one occurrence in his life as demonstration, and soon enough, your magic began to respond in the manner his had.

As your thoughts began to calm down, you became aware of the soothing flow of energy around Note and yourself, and then became aware that at some point you'd closed your bone lids over your sockets. Opening them, you had to blink a few times to make certain that what you were seeing was correct- your companion's cracked sockets were lit up a bright sky blue, with small wisps of smokelike energy flowing visibly from the stems and tails of the music notes the cracks formed. The further from his skull the wisps got, the more their color changed to a faint purple, before finally dissipating into the open air. It was a stunning display, indeed, but that wasn't why you stared...

"Note... you're eye-glowing..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I made a basic drawing of Bby Note and wanted to share it so y'all know kinda what I was describing with his cracked skull.  
> [Precious Bby Note](http://orig07.deviantart.net/e48e/f/2017/064/9/2/precious_bby_note_from_wdg_0_a__4r_15_t4_by_ultimumgamer101-db1b3iz.jpg)
> 
> I also drew Arista's creepy face (like without eyelights and with magic-tinted bone lips) cuz it shows up in a couple chapters, but I wanted to know if you guys wanna see it or if you'd rather keep her appearance up to the imagination~


	29. In a Tense Situation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A fourth skeleton arrives through the machine... and he seems angry.

A burst of energy from within the lab caught the attention of the skeletons who'd already left, and in an unspoken agreement, they turned as one to see what happened. As their eyelights settled upon the lab they'd left behind, the door burst open in a shower of jagged bones, fired after your fleeing form.

"I DID NOT SIGN UP FOR THIS, SANS! AND GENO, I KNOW YOU'RE WATCHING AND LAUGHING AT THIS, THUS I HEREBY CONSIDER YOU THE METAPHORICAL EQUIVALENT OF MALE GENITALIA!"

Your voice was tense, the vibrations to its font audibly taut to the skeletons hearing it. That was something interesting about skeletons- the fonts they spoke in, naturally the common tongue or otherwise, had a distinct wavelength to each. For example, the Comic Sans font was of low pitch, relaxed tone, and slow speed, revealing the laid back nature of its bearer, whereas the Aster font was of low pitch, sharp tone, and medium speed, revealing the bearer's possession of unknowingly severe hidden depths. 

Your core font was the Arista font, of medium pitch, sharp tone, and medium speed, possessing a bold yet relaxed sophistication. The Lolita font adopted later on by you and your soul revealed your playfully dramatic nature, but that was not audible in your voice at this moment. Currently, as you ran, your bold core font was stretched out to the Sans Serif - Aster range, bordering on the edge of fonts that couldn't be understood by normal monsters. It was a familiar and stressful font for the skeletons gathered around- they possessed it themselves, excluding the one that chased you- and revealed more than you'd intended them to know.

A skeleton has the ability to mask their font as the generic font- the common tongue- normal monsters speak in, but the fact that you'd begun speaking in another font revealed that you were a skeleton monster. The fact that you'd begun speaking _their_ font revealed that you had an existential connection to them, perhaps that you _were_ a Sans in a sense... and while you would not openly dispute that, it was not strictly the truth. Normally you kept a better hold over your voice, but after discovering that Note could eye-glow where he couldn't before, _and_ being subsequently surprise-attacked by a new arrival from the machine, you'd lost that self-control for just a little bit. Your attention was on avoiding the skeleton now chasing you, a skeleton you'd pissed off just a few jumps ago...

"GET BACK HERE YOU BITCH! YOU FUCKING KNEW THE HUMAN WAS ATTACKING MY BRO AND DIDN'T DO JACK SHIT ABOUT IT!"

That didn't sound very good to the skeletons watching you dodge an array of sharpened bones, and effectively prevented them from stepping in as they observed for more information. From behind the broken doorway, SwapFell Papyrus emerged, his right eyelight burning a fierce reddish-orange with his wrath. He wasted no time following after you as you ran towards the woods- smart, getting the battle out of view of the native populace- hurling attack after attack upon your fleeing form.

"SO DID YOU! AND IT WASN'T MY UNIVERSE TO INTERFERE IN! HOW DO YOU EVEN REMEMBER THAT, THE MACHINE USUALLY DOESN'T GET FIXED IN NEUTRAL RUNS!"

You had so many questions. That attack upon arrival was unexpected- you'd barely managed to push Note out of the way- and you'd had to withdraw your cloak into a shawl while running up the stairs and through the snow. The lack of assistance from the Sanses present kind of pissed you off, but despite that, you could understand their need to get the situation completely before judging. They _were_ the Judges, after all, it was kinda their job.

"HOW THE FUCK DO YOU THINK WE COUNT THE DEATHS OF THE HUMAN ON GENOCIDE RUNS, HUH!?"

They could remember the timelines all along? That was impossible, you'd never seen a Sans equivalent recall anything more than a LOAD, and even that was faint recollection assisted by code words, déjà vu, and facial expressions... But wait, they stopped counting after ten of the human's deaths... Did that mean they only remembered the last ten timelines they'd experienced? 

His response caused you to trip in surprise, and a barrage of bones connected with your form, downing your HP by... a mere five points. 

_And that wasn't even your final form_... 

"CALM YOURSELF, SIR! YOUR BROTHER IS ABSOLUTELY FINE AND DANDY! I HAVE DONE NOTHING IN YOUR CURRENT TIMELINE!"

You tried to get up, but a thick bone through your tibia and fibula had pinned your left leg to the ground, and only damaged you further when you tried to remove it. Thus, you were forced to twist onto your back and settle with manifesting an illusive barrier around yourself- a small, red, 3D shape shimmering with determination. It was similar to your mirror maze special attack- the one you had used on the genocidal human all those jumps ago- but much stronger and more compact, forming a triangular pyramid in shape. Triangles were, after all, one of the strongest shapes in terms of supporting pressure.

The tall skeleton outside your barrier growled in frustration, stalking around the outside like an enraged animal seeking a weak spot to exploit. You kept your sharpened diamond eyelights on him, barely realizing your hood fell back except to note a sudden flare of indigo light in the area- your hair. It was long and bright, signifying the substantial stores of energy you possessed in reserves alone, and flared with the unstable strength required to maintain your illusive shield.

Your mouth was a line of displeasure- unusual for a skeleton, with corners that appeared to be cross-stitched together- but another growl from the aggressive SwapFell Papyrus had those bone lips parting to reveal your teeth that were far sharper than those of his. He visibly blinked at that, seeming to come out of his anger for a moment, before he settled down into a steady glare.

"Look, I do not wish to fight you, but if you keep doing what you've been doing these past so many minutes, I'm going to have to show you why I have a LOVE that's higher than yours."

He froze, not having felt any CHECKs, and narrowed his sockets at you.

"and just how do you know what my love is if you didn't check it?"

Your perma-grin widened substantially, straining the stitched edges of your mouth as you sat up a little more.

"You're in possession of five LV, dear. I'm at seven. Being a test subject, a scientist, and then traversing countless violent universes leaves its mark upon even the most resilient of souls, as you well know... Cease your attack, or I will be forced to fight back. Do _not_ make me resort to such a base course of action. I loathe fighting..."

You scowled at the thought, and upon noticing the stares of the Sanses nearby, began to realize that your hood had fallen. A gloved hand flew up to check its positioning, and feeling its displacement, you stuck out a glowing indigo ecto-tongue at the group before pulling it up and hiding your visage once more.

Well, at least you'd fulfilled your end of the deal. Now the Sans of this universe just had to deliver... once this Papyrus backed off.

"...caramel, why don't we head back to the house?"

Oh hallelujah someone finally decided to intervene. 

Letting yourself fall back into the snow, you kept the illusive barrier up until most of the skeletons had left, dropping it when there seemed to be only yourself left behind. The bone between your tibia and fibula was yanked out of the ground and tossed aside as though it was nothing, and a slight gasp made you realize that you weren't as alone as you'd thought... brilliant.

You turned to face Hip-Hop, who'd begun to approach and stopped halfway, and stared him down with a stance of sheer neutrality.

"you could've destroyed him... but..."

Standing, you brushed the snow off of your slightly torn outfit, and focused on the imbued illusive magic necessary to seal the gashes in the fabric before responding to his unspoken question.

"But I didn't. Why not? Because I hate a senseless murder, and what he wanted was a fight to the death that would've solved absolutely nothing. He can still do better... Not everyone with LOVE has it because they want it. Not everyone who has killed has an irredeemable soul."

Walking past the still skeleton, you began the short walk back to the skelebros' house, not even pausing when his footsteps began to echo your own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alrighty everyone, it's time for another 1-6 blind vote! Choose wisely, the amount you pick will affect things drastically~
> 
> =)


	30. There Were Puns of Plans Made

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Puns are a horrible, contagious disease... you use two of them while talking up a plan, _two_...

The atmosphere in the house was awkward and tense, the new arrivals present eating spaghetti in silence. Patch stood leaning against the wall beside the TV, facing the lumpy green couch with a slight grimace. Note had been recovered from the lab, having been shoved into shelter from Caramel when he attacked, and was seated a good distance away from the lazy and violent Papyrus. Beside him, to his right, the Sans native to this universe faced Ink, and prepared to ask the question on everyone's minds... but the door swung open before he could do so, and in walked Hip-Hop, following after your short form.

Closing the door behind him, you took in the tense atmosphere, and sighed dramatically.

"Of course the Judges get judgemental. Self defense means nothing these days, I swear."

A cutting glance from Sans had you quiet down, and a shrug from Hip-Hop prompted the searching question from before to be spoken.

" _was_ it self defense? that's a lotta lv to have for self defense alone."

Ink raised his hand with a grin, appearing downright cheerful in the face of the uncomfortable atmosphere. His odd eyelights brightened up at the question, and you waved for him to answer it, since he seemed so eager to do so.

"It actually was self defense, with the lack of no other choice. Having to kill D-"

You quietly screeched over him to signify that he was good with just the confirmation, but he didn't stop speaking.

"-really messed her up for a while... she cried a lot afterwards."

A glare was aimed at the back of his skull, but he didn't react... so you decided to divert the conversation down another path, a mischievous grin forming within the depths of your hood.

"Yes, do continue sounding so blasé about it... Stalker."

He reacted to _that_. Hah!

"I wasn't stalking you! I was just... watching from a distance!"

"That, dear Ink, is the very definition of stalking."

"Hey, you stalk people too!"

"On the contrary, I actually make contact with the beings of the universes I enter. From what I gather, you just lurk about in the bushes until you're forced to do otherwise."

"I was going to say hello _eventually_... and look, here I am!"

"Indeed, after you've apparently been relieved of your brush, which thus restricted you to the use of the machines of other Sans equivalents..."

"I want Broomie back... wait, what were we talking about?"

"You admitted to stalking. It's too late for you now. I have witnesses."

"Noooooo..."

You were unable to keep your composure after that, and stumbled into the wall from the force of your laughter. Ink was visibly pouting where he stood, his plate of spaghetti placed atop his skull so he could fold his arms. The sight only made you laugh harder, and the tension in the room dissipated, the skeletons looking a mixture of confused and amused.

After calming down, you sauntered over and sat on the floor next to the couch, a pleased smile hidden by the darkness of your hood. However, this smile faded when Sans reached over and pulled the hood back, stopping you when you went to put it back up.

"remember our deal, right? no hiding in the magic cloak."

You pouted, and tried to nudge his bony hand away, but he held firm to your hood.

"You only said I had to show them what I looked like, not that I had to continuously display it. Loopholes, dear Sans, loopholes everywhere."

A strange expression crossed your face.

"Loopholes is a weird word to say repeatedly. Loopholes, loopholes, loopholes, loopholes, loopholes... never you mind."

Everyone was staring at you... Strangely, this assessment included Note, although his semi-blind gaze was directed slightly higher than your skull. An awkward silence ensued, and after a few moments, your hair began to flicker with your agitation.

"What, pray tell, is so amusing about my face that you all must stare at it like deer in headlights?"

Surprisingly- or unsurprisingly- it was Patch who spoke up and answered your question, a curious and almost accusing tone to his voice.

"well, most of us haven't met a female skeleton monster before. thought we were the only ones left. think you could explain that?"

You flattened out your eyelights, displaying your lack of amusement... but you soon began to speak in a rather pleasant tone.

"You want me to explain my existence, or lack thereof. Certainly, because I travel the Multiverse, I must know everything. That is an easy assumption to make, but no, I do not know everything. All I know is what I have seen and what I have theorized- no more, no less- and if I were ever present at the event that erased the alternate versions of myself from existence, I wouldn't be here now. Do try to use some common sense."

He didn't look chastised at all. Typical.

"so you're saying that you don't know. could've just said so."

You attempted to tug up your hood, but met the resistance of Sans' hand again. It was time to redirect the conversation once more.

"Yes, yes. We could've been discussing why Papyrus made so much spaghetti this morning of all possible mornings to do so, but that is also outside the point. I believe you all came here to attempt finding a specific timeline, yes? I can see how Ink's presence would help with that, but he is apparently stranded without his... brush. That means there has to be a machine active in my home universe in order for it to be found, unless he gets his brush back..."

You paused, noticing the... odd... expressions on their faces. A scowl crossed your own skull for a moment, before you sighed and let it go with a final comment on the matter.

"...and you intend on using me to help you do so, evidently. Nice, nice, one of my favorite characteristics of Sans equivalents shining brightly right there."

Well, _now_ they had the decency to look chastised. As they rightly should~... excluding Note of course, as he was just as ignorant to their schemes as you were. In fact, he was the only one you trusted at this point, and you were going to sit beside him to display as such... if Sans ever released your hood.

"Sans. Could you maybe throw me a bone and relinquish your grip upon my hood?"

Your style of pun usage was usually more subtle than theirs... it had actual _artistry_ behind it, in your humble opinion... That meant that your puns were often unnoticed by those who were unsuspecting of them, but such was not the case in this scenario. Sans equivalents and puns went together like bread and butter.

"heh, good one, but i'd prefer it if you stayed put for now."

Before you could retort, Patch spoke up with a teasing grin upon his cracked face, his single eyelight watching the others with amusement.

"but what if i want her to give me a hand?"

Now was your chance~!

"Then I'll gladly give one to you."

You reached up and yanked Sans' hand loose from his wrist, and after quickly loosening its grip upon your hood, hurled it at the tallest skeleton in the room. The disembodied hand flew gracefully over Ink and the plate of spaghetti still balanced on his head, bounced off of the greaser skeleton's bare ribcage, and landed on the floor with a dull thud. Everyone stared at it for a few moments, and Sans wiggled the fingers of his detached hand, an expression of curiosity upon his skull... Ink began to snicker at the whole situation.

By the time attention turned back towards you, you were out of reach beside your companion, your permanent smile looking as angelic and sweet as you could possibly make it. You were filled with the temptation to simply pull your hood up and leave, but they were currently your best bet towards finding your home timeline... and your desire to be home where you belonged was stronger than that silly temptation. Even if they used you, as long as you protected your companion and had the strong probability of reaching home, you didn't care.

"Now that's settled, the current objective is to retrieve Ink's brush from Error, correct? That should be easy."

The other skeletons stared at you with varying degrees of disbelief, but it was Note who blew that disbelief out of the water.

"he was the one with the glitched audio, right? couldn't tell ya what he looked like, but those strings were freaky... felt almost alive. he seemed to have come along with a friend, fresh was his name, and fresh seemed interested in my buddy here."

You smirked at the curiosity upon Hip-Hop's skull, and nodded in agreement with your companion's statement.

"Correct, Note dear, he was. Caramel and I ran into Fresh during our little dispute in his universe, and Fresh somehow followed me to Mobtale with Error at his side. I don't doubt hanging around someplace for a day or two would have them appear once more, so consider me your live bait..."

Slowly, you leaned forward, allowing your grin to widen and your eyelights to fizzle out completely- a copy of Sans' signature serious face, given a creepy twist by the flare of your indigo hair above it.

"...j u s t d o n' t m a k e m e r e g r e t i t... okay?"

They nodded, and you reignited your eyelights, pleased that you could creep out even one Sans, let alone multiple.

"Excellent! No need to look so chilled to the bone, by the way... You could even consider it flattery that I chose to imitate _you_ instead of someone else."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you who wanna see [Arista's Creepy Face](http://orig09.deviantart.net/f306/f/2017/064/5/0/arista_s_creepy_face_from_wdg_0_a__4r_15_t4_by_ultimumgamer101-db1b4ix.jpg), just click the link! Also included is her full name written in her font =)  
> Jsyk, the bone lips are colored by her magic like her hair is. If her magic was drained, they would still have that shape, but no color would be present.  
> Due to her hair floating about unaffected by gravity, she uses a ghost ponytail to keep it up like that, because constantly focusing on keeping it out of the way would be an unnecessary drain on her magic. Think of Napstablook's ghost sandwiches for reference as to its properties.
> 
> I'm not quite satisfied with the way the drawing came out, so if anyone wants to make something better, feel free to do so! Just make sure you comment the link if you do~


	31. And Then They Danced~

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dancetale Sans has a bone to pick with you... How will that turn out?

After creeping everyone- _almost_ everyone- out, you'd been sent to the quantum joke book corner of the room, and there you stayed for some time. Much like a bored child, you lay on your back with your feet against the wall, and monitored your lowered magic levels as the Sanses in the room conversed.

"So how long do you think it'll take for him to show up?"

That was Ink, questioning Note as to the ways of Error after only one encounter... nice.

"i dunno, he appeared in... arista, was it mobtale...?"

Turning your head to peer at your companion, you noticed that he seemed a bit uncomfortable under all the attention, and manifested an illusive hand to soothingly rub his shoulder. Ink stared at the hand with undisguised interest as you nodded to confirm the universe, but returned his attention to Note once he began speaking again. At least the fellow multiverse traveler was polite enough to do that.

"he showed up while everyone was asleep... and we arrived around noon... so about half a day..."

Turning your attention elsewhere, you began to once again take notice of the positioning of the various Sanses around the room. Patch had moved to the couch, and sat between the right armrest and the sleeping Classic Sans, who was still beside Note. Ink was seated on the floor in front of the couch, having gotten tired of standing, and his plate of spaghetti was cleared but still on his skull. Caramel was flat out on the floor beside Patch, half of his body cut off from your view by the couch, and seemed to be having a discussion with the tallest Sans present. Much like you, Hip-Hop had separated himself from the others, sitting on the bottom steps of the staircase nearby.

It was the dancer that surveyed the room as you did, and caught you watching him. Rather than look away, however, he stared back with curious eyelights, and seemed to come to a decision about something. You were left to watch as he stood up from his corner and approached you, holding out a hand for you to pull yourself upright.

"...care to dance?"

Raising a single bone brow in curiosity, you accepted his offered hand, and momentarily found yourself in a standing position. It was rather interesting that he would ask to dance, given his natural shyness about it... very, very interesting, and likely possessing of some ulterior motive.

"Curiosity killed the cat, but I would be delighted to. Formal rules, if you please."

Formal dancing in his universe was the equivalent of a magic battle, wherein if either dancer takes a misstep, they get hit and receive damage. With Hip-Hop being a Sans and having some idea of your strength, this was a test for him just as much as it would be for you... a test to see how far he was willing to go to obtain whatever information he wanted from this.

"sure. we might wanna go outside though, don't wanna destroy classic's house."

How very interesting.

"Very true, lead the way towards our stage."

He moved, and you followed, heading towards the door and drawing the attention of the other skeletons. When he ignored their looks except to draw his hood further over his skull, you did the same, and even did a little twirling hop over Caramel's relaxed form along the way. Through the door the two of you went, conversations dying behind you, and curious skeletons following after you.

A quiet comment from your challenger gave you pause for a moment...

"be true to yourself."

Perhaps... he knew more than he let on...

The mood was almost somber, but with a little humming you brightened it up a bit, bringing some ease to the situation as he led you into the area where Papyrus equivalents generally fight the human. When he stopped abruptly, standing where the human would, you paused beside him and tilted your head curiously. The unspoken question was answered by his own head tilting forward, and you stepped forward to stand where Papyrus would, right where he indicated you to.

"Dum vivimus vivamus..." _(Let us live as we live...)_

You murmured the opening statement for the formal dance, bringing your left hand to the bottom of your sternum and your right hand behind your back, sliding your left foot back as you leaned forward in a mixture of a bow and a curtsey. Be true to yourself, hmm...? 

"...ad astra per aspera." _(...through hardships to the stars.)_

Hip-Hop completed the phrase, bowing to you and bringing the opening of the battle to a close. When he straightened up, his magic surged visibly from his skull to his tarsals, and flared outwards along the ground. A thick dome of black battle magic arose around the two of you from the edges of his magic outburst, leeching the color from your forms and leaving you to be viewed in monochromatic black-and-white.

As you straightened up yourself, your own magic rushed upwards from your tarsals to your skull, bursting from your intangible hair and closing the very top of the dome. The darkness of battle was now lit by the green, grid-like patterns of your surroundings, showing the watching skeletons as part of the outlined environment without any color. Formal battles such as this prevented the interference of those who are not directly involved, but allowed those who were close by at its start to witness it to completion... thus the five skeletons not involved were able to view the battle.

You suspected that they only wanted to see your soul. Utterly scandalous, but Sans equivalents had seemed to develop a lack of care for such things when the depression set in after Gaster's erasure in their respective universes. Of course, having learned that they could vaguely recall at least ten timelines previous, you now suspected that their depression was compounded by a sense of nihilism brought about by the flower and the human resetting so much. No matter the case, it was necessary to focus on the present rather than more theories, what with the appearance of your soul and Hip-Hop's soul within the field.

With Hip-Hop being the challenger, it was his move first. He stepped forward with surprising grace, circling your still form without changing the direction he faced, pausing only to reach up with both hands and draw down your hood before retreating once more. His light gray soul pulsed softly as he did so, a steady beat set upon the snowy stage. This was much different from that casual dance battle all those jumps ago.

As he swayed back into his place, it now being your turn, your cloak began to withdraw and collect about your arms. Being true to yourself, the fabric collected about your wrists like shackles, but swooped elegantly down and up to your shoulder blades and to your neck... If you were to raise your arms at this moment, the drooping fabric would appear almost as though it had turned your arms into a pair of wings, attached to your skeletal frame only by a collar and shackles. You were freedom, but you were bound- both by duty and otherwise.

Stepping forth in the dance style you had discovered as your main one, each step was drawn slightly outwards to become the mirror of Hip-Hop's swaying, large steps taken in a gracefully bold fashion. As you approached him, he raised a lazy right arm to the height of your left shoulder, making contact and sliding it down to your hand... At the same time, your own right arm reached forth and gently wrapped about his waist, bringing the two of you together in a strange imitation of the beginning posture for a waltz.

Then, the real dancing began.

Moving in time to the best of his soul, the two of you slid and whirled seamlessly about each other, magic pulsing through the battle dome. Occasionally you would separate, appear to charade a game of simon says with your movements, and merge back together in that loose imitation of a waltz. He would lead you through the motions during his turns, and you would take the lead upon your own turns, moving more deliberately as your indigo soul began to sing a lilting violin accompaniment to his bass. All of this expended a good deal of energy, and the longer the two or you danced, the more likely it was that someone would make a mistake.

As it turned out, it was you who took that misstep, stepping short just a few inches of a twirl and tripping into an intricate design of bones. True, he only did one damage with each bone, but there were no invincibility frames between each hit as there would be with any other opponent- such was a perk of being the magically appointed Judge of Monsterkind. With an instinctive recoil that drew you back into the dance, you noted the loss of 37 HP, along with a slow karmic effect draining you down another 18 HP. It was fortunate that you were an optimistic being with monster-style HoPe to spare, otherwise that would've killed you.

That brought into question, what was Hip-Hop's goal in this dance? A monster must have a goal in order to initiate the battle magic, and said battle magic could not be dissipated until that goal was either achieved, given up on, or one of the combatants were drained of HP. He hadn't yet indicated that he was ready to spare you, but that was to be expected, with him being the challenger. You hadn't elected to spare him yet either, desiring to see what his own goal was before doing so...

As the two of you continued past the mistake as though it'd never occurred, you noticed beads of sweat forming upon your opponent's skull, where you could see it under his hood. Such high intensity energy output was detrimental to a Sans' health, and was used primarily during Genocide Timelines, where the consequences didn't really matter. This was no such scenario, and with your magic starting to flicker with instability, you wouldn't be able to pull back a hit if he were to take a misstep. One hit would be all it took to dust him, and with a slight change in your movements, your concerned soul began to broadcast your intent to end the battle.

You were Sparing him.

His soul pulsed in response, the bass beat quieting down as your violin song faded away. For a moment, all was silent as you returned to the place you'd started in, and began the closing statement.

"Ad astra per aspera..." _(Through hardships to the stars...)_

He acknowledged your willing defeat, returning to his own starting point and bringing the battle to an end.

"...dum vivimus vivamus." _(...let us live as we live.)_

The green outlines of the surroundings faded away, and light returned to the darkness that had previously been the dome. The two of you breathed heavier from the exertion- despite your greater magic reserves even while drained, you needed to use more energy to keep up with his controlled mastery- having found yourselves evenly matched in this battle. As the two exposed souls returned to their rightful places, you gave a thumbs up with a happy grin, before promptly falling backwards into the charged snow.

"Remarkable battle, dear Hip-Hop, absolutely remarkable... hff... Let's do it again sometime."

A muffled thump nearby indicated the exhausted collapse of the dancer following your own, and he laughed at the act. He'd gotten what he wanted- a true assessment of your desire to hurt others, as the desire for something was truly different from the capacity for something- and he judged you as a pretty okay being.

"hehhhh... heh heh... sure... after a nice, long nap..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> O boi o boi I'm a few chapters ahead of y'all and things are about to get real... Prepare yourselves! Be like Mad-Eye Moody! CONSTANT VIGILANCE!


	32. In a Countdown of Peace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We play the waiting game, and discover our condiment of choice... nice.

After that dance battle and a long nap, the various Sans equivalents had seemed to accept you, and were no longer watching you like you were carrying a dust-coated knife. Caramel had left after a while as everyone slept, and the others believed him to have returned to his home universe, leaving you and Note with the four Sanses whom wanted to help you. Together, once you and Hip-Hop woke up from your respective naps, the group began to strategize on a way to retrieve Ink's brush from Error...

That was two days ago. 

Surprisingly, the glitched skeleton had not shown up, and nor had the colorful Fresh. You weren't exactly complaining about this, but you were beginning to feel on edge... almost anxious... This timeline hadn't yet reached the point where the Barrier broke, and the human was already making their way through Hotland. You'd experienced the phenomenon that broke the Barrier twice before, and it was something you didn't really want to experience again... But the human stopped for nothing, driven onwards by their Determination, and it was only a matter of time before they reached New Home and fought Asgore.

A shiver crawled down your spine, and as you closed your eyes, the resulting rattle of your ribcage caught the attention of your companion.

Note was concerned. After that battle with the surprisingly graceful Sans, you'd seemed to withdraw from everything, putting yourself at a distance similar to the one you'd had when he first met you. It was clear to him- through your voice and the rhythm of your magic- that being in one place for so long was affecting you negatively, but you simply waved him off whenever he asked about it. He couldn't push much, not without threatening the sense of friendship between you and himself, so he'd decided to stay close and monitor you quietly. So far, it had seemed to be working... but simply being there wasn't enough.

From what he'd pieced together, through your own comments and memories and actions, you seemed to have an inherent lack of care for... well, everything. However- despite that- you remained hopeful of a better future, and it showed in the way you reacted to certain situations. He himself was an example of the high hopes still within you- he knew now that if you hadn't cared at all, he would probably never have left the Void with his sanity intact. Yet... he couldn't help but notice the mounting wall of indifference you were building...

It was so similar to his own when his older brother had been erased- as though you were waiting for something to happen and take everything good away. The way you stayed as close as he did to you, and the way your magic would constantly shift and reach out towards the other beings in the room... it gave him the idea that you were reassuring yourself of their continued presence. 

Something was coming, and he intended to find out what.

Standing upright from his previously-slouched posture, your companion made his way across the room to the Sans whose magic radiated creativity, the only being present that didn't possess a soul. This skeleton was different in that he also traveled the Multiverse, which meant that he probably had the same knowledge you did on whatever event was coming. His friendly disposition made him approachable, and even though he didn't have a soul, that only solidified Note's belief that he would have no objections with sharing said information. Thus, all he had to do was say hello and strike up a conversation... easy-peasy.

"...hey, you call yourself ink, right?"

The colorful skeleton looked up from the game of solitaire he was playing, and took note- heh- of your companion actually not standing by your side for once. With a grin, Ink nodded, and grasped Note's hands to maneuver him into the seat beside him.

"Yep, that's me, just your every day demi-god skeleton with a fantastic taste in art! Wassup there, Note?"

Friendly, maybe a bit immature, but not overwhelmingly so. Note could handle this just fine.

"the sky... and i wanted to ask if you knew what is making arista look like the sky is about to fall..."

A joke to lighten the weight of the question was perfectly appropriate. The other skeleton silently approved before answering.

"Well, I've seen her several times through the past so many universes she's been in, and right now she's probably thinking about the Barrier. She's keeping an eyesocket on the human's progress more than anything else right now."

Glancing towards the female skeleton in question, Ink noticed that you had fallen asleep, and a devious grin appeared upon his teeth.

"When she's not sleeping like the dead... Pfft, wanna prank her?"

Without waiting for a response, the creative skeleton went into the fridge and retrieved a can of whipped cream that had been intended for the human, and moved stealthily towards your sleeping form. Slowly, silently, he carefully removed your left glove- no need to ruin the leather- and sprayed a healthy dollop of the creamy substance upon your carpals. When that was done, his grin widened slightly, and he began to very lightly poke the bone directly between your eyesockets... A classic prank indeed, making a person slap themselves with whipped cream, one which would have worked had you truly been sleeping.

"uh... maybe don't do that...?"

Having only been resting your sockets, you had heard Ink's comment about pranking you, and curiously decided to welcome the distraction to your thoughts. Upon feeling him remove your left glove, you fought back a smile at the unexpected consideration, and focused on the fluffy substance that was nozzled into the exposed hand of bones... You appreciated Note's loyalty though, and thus, when Ink tried to make you touch your face, you sent all the whipped cream back into the wannabe-prankster's own face.

"You can't prank the prankmaster, kid. Stick with your puns and knock knock jokes, _I've_ got the corner market on pranks here."

You finally opened your bone lids, a wide grin on your skull, and peered down at your messy hand in curiosity. This prank generally called for shaving cream, but there wouldn't be a can of such on hand in a house full of skeletons... and the human was still too young to need to shave anywhere... so what was this? Through the laughter of your companion and the bewilderment of the colorful skeleton, you took a tentative taste of the mysterious fluff, because what else would one do when faced with an unknown and possibly toxic substance on their hand?

Your eyelights turned into four-pronged stars, rotating with the unexpected giddiness that came from the taste of whipped cream. Reaching forth, you relieved the laughing skeleton of his prank weapon of choice, and casually stored it in the Void. As the laughter died down and the colorful skeleton took in your use of magic curiously, you sat up and spoke in a jokingly solemn tone.

"...I love whipped cream now. I'm sorry Note, but I'm afraid I must let you go. Nothing shall be allowed to get between us, not even a friend like you."

After a fresh round of amusement went around, you noticed that the room was quieter and emptier than it'd been earlier, and sent out a casual wave of magic to scan for the whereabouts of the other skeletons. Fortunately, most were in range around the house, but one was conspicuously absent... you'd be okay with this if it were his home universe, but it wasn't.

"Ink, where has Patch gone?"

The expression on the colorful skeleton's face was probably meant to reassure you, but it failed as he responded.

"I dunno, maybe he went back to his universe for something."

He'd vanished while your guard was down, just like Caramel had, but you'd been of the idea that the tall skeleton was polite enough to say farewell before leaving... Maybe you were worrying too much. The Barrier breaking wouldn't harm any of them permanently when it came to pass, after all- it was even less painful than a LOAD, all things considered.

Everything would be fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh I hope y'all are ready. Tensions are about to rise, then the results of your last 1-6 vote will be used... >;3


	33. There Were Three, Two, One...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the final countdown~  
> *synths start playing in the distance*

After a while of nurturing your newfound love for whipped cream, you decided that it was time to go over the plans for Error or Fresh showing up, once more with feeling. Sans Classic had wandered off somewhere after teasing you about being like him with his ketchup, Note was taking a seemingly pleasant nap on the couch, and the remaining skeletons were scattered elsewhere about the house. This left you relatively alone, which was a good time for the glitched skeleton to appear and take the bait... if he even wanted you.

Being honest with yourself, you had to admit that two full days- nearing three- was longer than you'd expect an angry multiversal skeleton to wait for revenge. The way he'd shouted at Note and you during the daring escape had made you think he was furious... but maybe he wasn't as angry as you'd thought, and simply wasn't interested anymore? Maybe he'd only gone after you because Fresh asked him to? No matter the case, you still needed to be prepared for the possible arrival at any moment, and you would do so even if it meant that you didn't get any sleep.

Skeletons could survive without much sleep easily- just ask Papyrus- but you knew you were pushing the boundaries a bit. Monster food was keeping your body nourished, and monitoring the surroundings was keeping your mind occupied... that would be enough for now. So far, as the others went to sleep each night, you remained awake and kept watch. It was a good plan, not the best, but a good one... It would be better if you could stay focused, such as now, when you were having a conversation with someone. Totally rude to zone out mid-conversation.

"Ah, my apologies, my mind went off to join Joku in a daydream. What were you saying?"

Ink stared at you with visible confusion, his eyelights changing in a blink to form a red question mark and a blue square.

"We were discussing the backup plan, you know, in case Error doesn't come here... It's not often someone else forgets something in the middle of a conversation. You doin' okay? And who's Joku?"

You blinked slowly, slogging through the memory of what you'd said before, and brought your hood up to shroud your skull in darkness.

"Thank you for the reminder. I could be better, I could be worse. But... who?"

The colorful skeleton looked at you strangely, but dismissed it in favor of returning to the previous conversation.

"So, back to the backup plan... um... What was it?"

One forgetful skeleton was bad enough, but two? You needed to find a third skeleton to keep the two of you focused.

"I wasn't paying attention, due to having zoned out. We need someone else here to plan with us. Where is Classic Sans, or Hip-Hop?"

Come to think of it, you hadn't seen those two in a while. Temporary disappearing acts were normal for Sanses, but this was downright strange. Especially following the unexpected departure of Patch, whom Ink still believed was getting something from his home universe... You were suspicious. Something probably happened to them- it would only be taking the tactical advantage to eliminate them one by one as they left your sight... or you were just being paranoid.

Standing up from the kitchen table, you turned and entered the living room, scanning the environment. Note was asleep on the couch, which looked very inviting, but you resisted the temptation in favor of stretching out your magic for any sense of the other Sanses. The main house only held Ink, Note, and yourself... but you could sense Classic in his shed, for whatever reason. However, Hip-Hop was beyond your immediate reach, which meant he was somewhere outside Snowdin and the first part of Waterfall.

With a curious hum, you drew your cloak out to its usual length and made your way to the door, planning on walking to the sentry station Sans manned at the beginning of Waterfall. Waterfall was your favorite place in the Underground, what with its secretive beauty and quiet inhabitants, and it held almost more areas off the beaten path than Snowdin and Hotland did. If you were perfectly honest, it was probably the place you would've taken your brothers to live in, if the situation hadn't required the protection of the well-known Grillby...

"I dunno actually. Want me to help look?"

You paused, hearing Ink's question, and shook your head after a moment of consideration.

"No. Thank you, but it would be better for you to stay here and keep an eye on Note..."

Could you trust him to do so? He was a multiversal traveler, who knew some things that you knew and some things you didn't, and could easily have his own motives. Although, his desire for his stolen brush seemed genuine... but you still had a small amount of doubt and mistrust towards him hidden in a back corner of your soul. He was... odd... but for now you chose to trust him. Optimism is important.

"...I'll be back in half an hour. If I'm not, assume that something happened to me, and gather the others together to wait here."

The rainbow-and-brown decorated skeleton nodded, a slight skepticism visible upon his skull as he did so. With that, you continued out the door, and set off to search for the missing dancer.

The snow crunched quietly beneath your feet, the bottom of your cloak sweeping the snow flat behind you as you made your way through the area of Papyrus' fight and the dance battle those couple days ago. This made it so you weren't easily tracked by those without strong senses of smell, and a dash of environment-copying illusion magic usually got rid of the scent trail, but you didn't need to worry about that here. In this universe, you didn't need to worry about being attacked, unless someone took a peek at your soul and thought you were a human. That was easily remedied by a swift teleport, however, so you were... relatively safe.

The thought wasn't as comforting as it was supposed to be.

As you wandered out of the bright snow of Snowdin and into the dark puddles of Waterfall, you made your way to the unoccupied sentry station, and paused to stretch out your senses. Unfortunately, Dancetale Sans wasn't in range, and you concluded that he was somewhere beyond the bench with the abandoned quiche beneath it. There were a few places you knew of that would be secluded enough to have privacy, but still leave you close enough to the beaten path to be found if necessary...

Retracting your senses, you began to move onwards, but paused at the sight of a grey door in the following hall. As you stood there, it creaked open slightly, and you were surprised to see Patch come out alongside Hip-Hop. Huh... maybe they just wanted to say hi to dear old dad/bro before meeting Error. That certainly explained their prolonged absence- time in that room moved differently every time it was used.

Whistling a quick melody to attract their attention, you waved once they looked up, and began walking back to the house. A few moments passed before you heard them teleport beside you and fail into stride, and curiously, you glanced between the two of them before speaking.

"Patch, you've been gone for two days now. Hip-Hop, roughly eight hours. Why not go directly back to Classic's house rather than walk back with me?"

The taller skeleton stared at the snow ahead that was already in sight, and shrugged. That... told you absolutely nothing. Fortunately, Hip-Hop had been more talkative after dancing with you, and was willing to answer.

"we... g had to show us something while in there. it'd be better if we accompanied you. safer."

A long-suffering sigh was barely restrained in your throat, and with a quiet laugh, you shook your head.

"I swear he's only interfering because he wants grandkids. Did you know that he has picked up the habit of Alphys to ship people, as in relationships? He's actually admitted to shipping a few pairs of Sanses together!"

You paused at a choking sound from Patch, and your permanent grin spread just a little bit wider at a thought.

"You know... I might just join him on some of those ships. UnderFell Sans and Science Sans are quite adorable together... Stars forbid they decide to work together on anything that gives them power. The Friend Club is bad enough... But don't worry, I haven't discovered any of his ships involving you two since I shamed him several decades ago... maybe I'll tell you some if you remember me the next time we meet after this little adventure."

This time, it was Hip-Hop who made a shocked noise, and you stifled a giggle behind a gloved fist. As the small group passed the shed, you gave a quick double knock on the door, and frowned at the lack of response. Classic had been in there before, hadn't he? Pausing in your gait and backtracking, you used a small illusion to unlock the door from the other side, and peered in...

The jovial atmosphere plummeted as you took in the sight of a string-bound Sans curled up in the dog bed, and standing behind him with a large brush on their back, the grinning face of Error.

"h̴̴͢͜ȩ͢h̀̀͜͞͠,̵̷̡͝ ̷͘m̨̨i̴͘͢s̴̨̛͢͝ş̸̛͏ ̛̕͠͝ḿ̶̡è͏͜͝?̶͏̴́͝"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> >w>
> 
> Retribution or Redemption? You decide!


	34. But Then the Fire Nation Attacked

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *Stronger Than You starts playing in the distance*

A loud whine filled the air, and diving forward from the two skeletons beside you, you barely managed to dodge the blast that landed there. With a quick glance backwards, you took in the horrifying sight of Patch with his entire left arm incinerated and leaking dust... Hip-Hop was nowhere to be seen.

A quick CHECK was performed on the tall skeleton, and your sense of horror grew... how did Error lower his HP that _much_ in one blast? It didn't make any sense!

***Gaster Sans / Patch**  
***ATK 33,333 DEF 33,333 HP 2,950/333,333**  
***What you can only wish to be an easy enemy.**

Peering up at the blaster Error commanded, you saw that it was covered in blue strings, under the control of the glitched skeleton. It didn't seem like he'd summoned it himself, due to its normal coloring and the eyelights of Classic Sans showing a massive amount of guilt and shame and horror- just like a Sans to blame themself for something out of their control.

"o̧͜͠͝n͢͢͞é̕͢͜ ̵g̸̵̨͠l̶̵͏i̶͞͝t͟͡͡͏c̵͘h̢̢̕ ̵̴̨͝ḑ̸́̀ờ͜͝ẁ̧̢n͏̵͝,̵͞ ̛̕t́̕w͏͜o͢͢͞ ̛̕t̶͘ò̶ ̶̕͞͠ģ̸̢o̧͡͠.̶̕̕͜.̷̧̨.̸̛̛̀"

This... you couldn't think of a strong enough word to describe how you felt about the glitched skeleton at this moment. He'd just _killed_ the second Sans you felt that you could truly call a friend, and damaged another. Yet despite the burning rage that sparked the magic within your soul...

...you stood up calmly, and slightly tilted your head to the side, as though it were a mere curiosity.

"Interesting..."

You spoke as though it didn't matter, as though it were a casual conversation that someone had never been just _murdered_ in.

"...that we are designated as glitches whilst you yourself are the most glitched of us all. What is the difference between us and yourself?"

This was a lesson for you, given many times before, but not learned. Do not get attached. _Do not interfere._ But of course, you simply had to, with all that hope kept hidden in the depths of your soul.

You could do nothing else.

Patch stared at you with his single yellow-ringed eyelight, his jaw grinding in a mixture of anger and pain, and he vanished. Teleported, likely to tell Ink about the arrival of Error, and find some food or something to heal himself. He left you alone with the demented skeleton and his hostage.

Nothing was going according to plan.

"t͟͡͏h͜͞ȩ̶ ̢̛͘d̡̨͢í̴̢̀ffè̶͝͝r̸̡é͢͏ņ́ç̷̧̛e͝?̵͏̢̡ ̧̨̧h̶̡̨͞͝ę͠h̶̕͢͜,͢͏ ͢͟͝͝t̛͡h́͟͜a̡̡̡͠t̡'͏̛͜͡͡s̶̷̛ ́é̛a̴̶̧͠s͞͞͡ý̴̷̡͝.͏̕͜͞.̷́͢.̨͠͡ ̴̴̧̧̧̧͢͢į͡'m th̵̶̛͡e̴͏ ̴̨̕̕ǫ̸̧̕n̨ļ̷̛͏y̨͟͝͏̛ ̵̸̨̡̛o̶̢̧͞͝nè͟͏̡͟ ̴̧ḑ̡̨o̷̷̵̡̕in̵g̢̕͠ ͠͝ą̷͜͠ǹ͏̀͏͘y̷̨t̀̀͘͜h̸̀͢í̡̛́̕n̵̡̧̡̕g̨̨ ̀͘͟͝à̡̢͡͞b̸̨͘o̧̡͞͠͞u͢͝t̕͢͡͠ ̴̧́̀͜ą̵̷̧l̴̀́͟l̸͢͏̀ ͟͝͡ý͘ò̢͠u̷̵͜͟ ͢͞o̷͟͡t́͏ḩ̛̛̕͜ȩ̕̕͢͡r̨̧̕ ̶̶͘͘͠͠ǵ̛͘͜͟l̸̸̛͢ì̵͢tc̴̨͞͞h̵̢͜͟é̸̛́͠ś."

You clasped your hands neatly behind your back, stepping on the palm of an illusive hand to bring yourself up to his height.

"So if another glitch were eradicating glitches as well, you wouldn't want to destroy them?"

The skeleton of black, red, and yellow bones grinned wider, seeming to gaze off fondly into the distance... before shaking his head decisively.

"By that logic, why haven't you destroyed yourself?"

Error shrugged, his grin widening as Classic gasped in muffled pain. He was doing something, but you wouldn't look- not yet. You had to try talking first... had to try offering Mercy first. _Even if he didn't deserve it._

"i̵͠t'̸̡̢̡s̴̡ ͟͜͜a̴͠͞ ̷͟͜͟t͏̵̢̛͢ha̛͏́͞n̵͝kĺ̀͘͟e̸̶̛͜ś̴s͏̢̛̛͝ ̸͢͡j̵̶̀͟ó̀͘͡b̸̵̡͞,͏̶́͝ ̴̨́b̸̛͜ú̡̡͘t̢̛ ͟͠͏s̷̡̧͜o̧͞͡m̶̴̧͟e̡̛b̡̡ǫ̶̴́d͟͠͞y͡͠͞'̧̕͟͠s̛ ͢͡͡go̵͜͜͠ţ̢ ̡̛̛t̶̛̛͘͟o̷̧ ̶͠҉̸d̴̢̀͟ó͜ ̴̡̀͜i͜͏̛t̢̡̢̀͟.̷̨̡́͞ ̢͜t̷̢͝͡h̀͜͡a̴̴͢͝t͏̧͟͞ ̸́͘s̷̡͠o̷̕͏̢͘m̸̧̀͜e̴̡͞b̵͞͠ó̷̷̢̡d͢y̵̛͜͞ ̵̨́i̕͏s̢̀ ̷̛̛l̸̢į̴̴tţ̶̴̧l͘͜e͏̀͝ ̶͘o͟l̶̀͟͝'̸͠ ̨͜͏͞m̸͏e̡̕͏̛."

...it was like you were talking to a dark eco silo- circular and volatile.

"You said that you would destroy someone else that was also doing your job, yet you wouldn't destroy yourself. I don't mean to be rude, but isn't that just a _tiny bit_ hypocritical? Would Papyrus want you to be that way?"

Appealing to the better halves of Sans equivalents usually worked... Perhaps the increasing number of glitches on Error's form meant that you were getting to him.

"d̶̕͜͞óǹ'̧̛̀t̷̴̨̡͘.͜͟͝.̧̀.̸̸̡̧́ ̛̕͞d̵̵̶͠o̶̶̕͟n͏̵̀'̧̕͝t̡̀͢͏̡ ̸̵̨̀͏t̶̨̀́͟a̴̵͞͝l͠҉̶̀͢k̵͟͡͠ ̡̧͝a̷̧͞b̷͞͡͡o̷̧̧͝͝ų̴̸̸t̀͘͡ ̴̵̢͞m̧̡y̢̧ ̶b̸͝͏ŕ̛͟͡o͘͝t̀͞͝h̡̕͝͡ę̕͘͡r̸͏͟.͝͠"

You leaned forward slightly, the bars in the middle of the shed being all that separated your body from his. The issue was pressed, and with each word spoken, the glitched skeleton withdrew a little bit further.

"Papyrus wouldn't want this for you, Error. He'd want you to be peaceful, to be happy. Does killing people really make you happy?"

He was against the far wall by now, curled in slightly upon himself. The glitches were more numerous, and the expression upon his face spelled out sheer hate and despair...

"ş̸̢̡h̢͟u͝t̸͟͢ ̴̡͏̴u̶̡͘̕͡p̴̷̸̀.̷͡"

This was it! You were getting through to him- where was Ink? He needed to be close by to get his brush back!

"Error... _Sans..._ Papyrus would want you to be brave, and uphold your true sense of morality even in his absence. Not this... Not killing people without any hope of stopping... The Multiverse is infinite, you would never be able to make progress with this 'thankless job' you've taken... Do you think he wants you to work yourself down to the bone without any hope of success?"

Error hunched over, his shoulders quivering. As he lifted his skull to look at you, you expected to see tears upon his face... but he was smiling wider than ever before. He was... laughing? And his left eye was burning brilliantly in the darkened shed.

...perhaps, you had made a mistake.

"y͏̨Ó̸̸͢͞u̸̶̧͠'̷̵͝͡Ŕ̶̶͞ę̷ ̕R̛̀Ȩ̀͟a̡L̴͜l̴̛Y̧̨͝ ͢͡p͘͝I̶̷̷̧s̨͝Ş̧̀̕I̷̢̨n͏̵Ǵ͟ ͘͡m͢E̷̵͢͞ ̴͘͝O̴̶̴͡͞f̶͝͡F̶̧̕͘͠!́͢҉̢̛"

The deafening screech of metal and wood being ground up and torn apart pierced through your skull, and your magic screamed at you to move. Diving down from the illusive hand, you grasped the humerus of Classic Sans and teleported outside, the two of you dropping into the snow across the road just in time to witness _the entire house_ of the skelebros smash into the shed at high speeds...

The others had been in there- Note, Ink, presumably Patch as well- and if they hadn't gotten out in time, their deaths were on your hands... They had to have gotten out, right? Two out of the three could teleport reliably, and one could teleport sporadically! They had to be okay... You couldn't let yourself doubt that. Trust, you needed to trust that they got out, because there was plenty of time for them to have done so while Patch warned them of Error's appearance.

_But there was dust blowing from the wreckage, and it wasn't Error's..._

"ayyyy wassup my radical lady-friend! turn around and shake my hand, pal!"

Your sockets went darker than the bottom of the Core.

Slowly, you turned around, and stared at the skeleton decked out in neon clothing. This freak was the cause of your most recent pain, the reason Error had ever become interested in you, and the reason you'd possibly lost your companion. The desire to hit something, to wreak havoc and carnage was swelling up in your soul, bubbling up in your magic, and you raised your hand to _do something_ -

But then you saw Ink behind him, and the urge to Fight was pushed aside by the tiniest speck of hope you'd ever felt. You slowly lowered your hand, deliberately moving it around the distal phalanges of the neon skeleton's offered hand before dropping it completely. If Ink had survived, the others had to have survived also... please...

"Hello Fresh. I see you've found me yet again. My apologies about refusing to shake your hand, but I've had bad experiences with that sort of thing, and would rather avoid similar occurrences."

The radical skeleton grinned and lowered his hand, stuffing it in his hoodie pocket along with his other in perfect sync. An uneasy feeling began to well up inside you at his close proximity- within six feet- your magic telling you that there was something wrong with his soul... You casually backed up a few paces, scanning your surroundings, and subconsciously maneuvered Classic Sans behind you as you did so.

"that's okay brah, that's okay. no biggie what-so-ever. but hey, now that you owe me for bein' all uncool-rude and leavin' in the middle of our last conversation by breakin' a window that wasn't yours, you r e a l l y should give me that taste now..."

Shit, he still wanted to taste your soul? What even... no! Just no! Today was bad enough already- _two skeletons had already died on your watch, maybe MORE_ \- and you didn't have the mental strength to deal with soul perversion on top of it.

"Terribly sorry, Fresh, but I'm afraid I must postpone that event to a later time. You see, Error is currently attempting to destroy me, and allowing you to get a taste now would be-"

He abruptly darted towards you, and you instinctively teleported further down the road away from town with Classic Sans in hold. Said Sans yanked his arm free of your grip and teleported away completely- of course, he had to check on Papyrus, how stupid of you- leaving you alone to witness Error rise from the dusty wreckage and stand beside Fresh.

Ink was hiding in the bushes... sneaking around towards the brush that lay abandoned within the dust... He would be of no help to you.

Note was somewhere unknown- you refused to believe that he was dead, you _refused_ \- and so was Patch.

The situation came together as thus: you were alone against these powerful multiversal travelers, but nothing was getting done by standing around. Running was not an option while Note's fate was unknown. You couldn't abandon him; you'd promised to protect him, and how could you do so if you weren't around? Unfortunately, they wouldn't accept your Mercy right now, so you couldn't Spare them either. All you could do was Act or Fight...

With a tense little laugh, you stepped forward and leaned into a defensive battle stance. It was time to protect Note- _please shortcut to the Void, you could find him there, please_ \- from these two... Time to get this plan to find your home back on track... Time to hope that Ink got to his brush before you were dust in the wind.

"How rude... but if that is the way it must be, then that is the way it must be. The two of you will not stop until you achieve your goals, and neither will I... So let's go, just me and you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember that last 1-6 vote y'all did? Heh heh heh... Hip-Hop is only the first >;3


	35. In a Battle of Strength and Will

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shit gets real too quickly. A burning feeling builds within...

"Let's go, just one on two!"

A string was slashed your way, and you rolled out of the targeted area. Beams of orange- was that confetti?- were gaster blasted towards you, and you moved through them. Countless bones were thrown between the three fighting skeletons in the open snow, and you had never been in so much danger... nor had you ever felt so alive.

The plan had been brought back on track. You were a powerful skeleton possessing of human strength and monster magic- resulting in unstable magic, volatile magic, but unbelievably powerful magic. If you lost control of it, there was the high possibility of incredible destruction to occur, and that was why you trained with it almost as much as a Papyrus equivalent. Control, control, control. In this moment, you had it, and thus were able to stand up against these two multiversal travelers with a smile.

You stomped your foot with a surge of illusion magic, activating your primary special attack. Towering walls of reddish-purple mirrors broke through the ground, almost reaching the cavern ceiling, and you grinned at the sound of glitched frustration echoing within the maze. They were beautiful effects these mirrors had- reflecting half the damage inflicted upon them back to the attacker, changing positions when broken- and it always amused you to hear your opponents discover these effects.

Unfortunately, the maze only lasted as long as your opponent was inside it. A few moments later, it dissipated, and you looked up to see Fresh standing on a wacky gaster blaster by the cavern ceiling and Error standing on some strings at the same height... You should really adjust that attack in the future so its height could be customized to the environment at hand.

With a blast of cyan confetti sent your way, you were forced to remain still as the two returned to the ground. It lasted several seconds longer than a normal gaster blaster shot, giving your opponents enough time to get within several meters of you... Strings shot forth from Error's phalanges, and you willingly took the damage from the cyan magic, knowing that being trapped in those strings would be the end of the battle. It couldn't end just yet, not until Ink had his brush, and not until you knew that your companion had gotten away safely.

Catching a bone aimed at you for ten damage, you bent it to your magic and formed a sword out of it, preparing for an absolutely normal attack. It was true, that you disliked fighting to kill, but the intensity of this battle was forcing you to seriously consider the possibility. The amount of EXP that would be gained from these two might be enough to max out your LOVE... and you didn't want that. This was a friendly Multiverse where nobody had to die, and you were going to stick by that ideal as long as you possibly could!

As though reinforcing that thought, the glimpse of Ink with his brush indicated that all hope was not lost. The plan was a success, he had obtained the tool with which he traveled the multiverse! All he had to do now was help redirect Fresh and Error someplace else, and you could finally go back to your home timeline!

Another slew of strings came your way, and you nimbly ducked behind a tree... only for the tree to be sliced evenly in six pieces. The strings are sharp... noted. If you were fortunate, you would never come in contact with those, but your chances would be significantly better if Ink were beside you. Unfortunately, while discussing the plan, he'd asked you to distract the other two as long as you could, whether he had his brush or not. You'd agreed, so you needed to follow through until he found and moved the others to safety.

Leaping through more orange confetti and freezing where a blue bone made contact, you fought the two valiantly between their attacks, a bright grin upon your skull. From the corner of your sockets, you saw Ink coloring a swath of paint upon the ground, and guiding... a very dead-looking Classic Sans into it. In his free hand you could see the maroon hoodie of Caramel covered in dust and confetti... _he hadn't left for his home after all_... Still, you couldn't focus on that now. You made an excellent distraction, dancing between these two opponents of yours and keeping them from noticing Ink's actions.

Dancing... 

A dark thought brought your sense of victorious glee back down to seriousness, and you focused on the fight. Keeping Error and Fresh within the same area was becoming more difficult the more it was destroyed... it was time you put that bone sword to good use. Thus, without further hesitation, you charged up your magic within the sword and began the commencement of your second special attack!

Holding the hilt of the sword firmly in your dominant hand, you performed a flourish and a twirl, slicing a spiral of white attack magic horizontally around the pair of skeletons before stabbing the blade into the ground at the center of said spiral. The sword shattered, and the pieces flew outwards through the walls of the spiral, forcing the two to move within the spiral quickly to avoid being hit.

Unfortunately for them, they weren't familiar with this attack, and were forced a good distance away to avoid being hit by several shards. You smirked with satisfaction, watching them dodge and backtrack into the entrance tunnel of Waterfall to avoid the shards... Attacking once more, right as the previous attack was about to end, you sent out a mobile maze of bone to try keeping them pinned there. It was dirty cheating, doing a double attack like that, but fighting two enemies at once gave you that option.

Stars forbid you ever face an army- your turn could last almost forever if that occurred.

With a deep breath and a grin, you checked on Ink's progress, and saw him holding a black leather jacket covered in dust... Patch should've been able to survive that easy, unless... unless he was still in the house when Error smashed it into the shed. If that was the case, what about Classic Papyrus? He'd been out patrolling, but was due back around the time you'd found Patch and Hip-Hop. That distraught expression on Sans Classic's face... no...

Stars... three, maybe four of them were dead... Note was still in the house when you'd left it, but so was Ink, and Ink was still alive. You just had to believe that Note survived too... that dust in the wreckage _was not his_...

Your grin faded into a line of neutrality.

Due to taking a deep breath during your progress check, you were able to screech quite loudly when Fresh abruptly appeared beside you and made you jump out of your skin. The neon-clad skeleton had the nerve to laugh at that, although after getting a couple meters of distance between him and yourself, you were able to see the amusement of the reaction. Particularly, with him standing there and not doing anything to attack at all, you were able to relax ever-so-slightly... and immediately wonder what he was here to distract you from.

"chillax dudette, i ain't here to fight anymore. my glitched-out broseph is totally still gunning for ya with some un-fresh vibes though, so you watch yourself!"

So he didn't want to fight anymore, huh? He wasn't the one who had killed the others, but he'd led their killer to them, which was almost as bad... but your optimistic side said that he probably didn't know what would happen, and so begged you to Spare him...

"Alright then, Fresh dear. Could you please stand by the side of the Waterfall entrance then, both so you don't get harmed in the cross-fire and so I can keep watch in case you're a liar?"

So blunt. Much blaze. Very burn. Yet surprisingly, Fresh agreed to this with good nature, and sat himself down in a snow poff by the river. Huh... that was one enemy down. Time to focus on Error- who seemed to be very unhappy with his positioning, and was using his strings to slice through the bone maze like a steak knife through butter...

"Well, that's one way to solve a maze... and also, a surprisingly painful way of making skeleton children from one's palms; If there are no holes, cut them yourself. The latter example only works if you have the right stasis solution, however."

Several glitched bones pierced upwards from the ground where you stood, aiming to either damage you or pin you in place, but you leapt out of the way just in time. A low whistle of appreciation escaped your teeth as you beheld the glorious fury of Error, his glitches fizzling in and out of existence almost faster than you could register them. He was maaaaaad... and you were the cause of it.

"Be careful, Error dear, your sockets are looking somewhat blinded, and I have no desire to dust you."

He growled in response, sending out a slew of strings from both hands. Instead of aiming them at you however, he had aimed at the surrounding environment, and a few moments' passing revealed why... 

With a loud rumbling and the grinding of stone on stone, the ceiling began to cave in, large boulders falling towards the snowy battlefield. Forced to jump by a barrage of bones from below, you knocked into a falling boulder. Only your quick reflexes kept you from being pinned against the ground, but you didn't escape that hit unscathed- knocking your skull like that had put you in a slight daze. This in turn slowed down your reaction speed, so by the time you realized that Error was isolating you from the rest of Snowdin, it was already too late. True, you could break through later on, but for now you were on your own.

A cyan bone scraped by your patella as you were moving, and you winced at the damage taken by it. Still, as long as- oh shit.

Your soul was blue now. He'd gotten through your defenses enough to force an effect upon your soul, and now the gravity upon your body was increased. If you kept screwing up like this, the battle was as good as over... so you had no choice but to begin fighting for real. You would give him one last chance to accept your Mercy...

"Error, enough of this. This is a senseless battle."

The environment was slowly filling up with strings, like a chaotic spider web being woven around its prey... You moved carefully towards the entrance of Waterfall, where there were fewer strings to avoid. A quick glance was aimed at the side of the road to make sure Fresh was still there...

"s̛͟͏e̵̢͜n̷s̵̶͘͝͠e̷̷̷l̸̀͠e̶̴͞s̡̕s̷͜?͢ ̛͡m̀́͢a̶̢͟y̡̕͟b̛̛͘é̛ ̡͏̶̵y̸҉o̸҉ú͢ ̴̸̧͢͜s̸̨͞͏h̨͘͜ơ̧͡͞ų͞l̷͠d̸̵'̢́͘͟͝v̨͝è̷̴͘ ̸̴̡͝t҉͘h̛̛͏̶҉ơ̴̴͢u͘̕g̷̵̕͠͞h͝ţ̶͝͡ ̡̕͠o̵̷̧͟͜f̸̸͞ ̶̨̢͘͏ţ̧h̀͟͞a̛t̷̷̨͘͟ ̴̡̨͠b́͝͡e̶f̢́͘͝o̡̕͡ŗ̸̛é̷҉̷͏ ̢͡c̢̨͟a̵̴̧͟t̀́͏c͞͏ḩ́́́í͘͝͡n̷͜͢ǵ̵̨͠ ̨m̶̢y̸̨̧ ̸̀͝e̸̕͞͝͏y̸͢e҉̴̢s̨̕͞͏o͝͝͞͏ć̢͡k̵̢̢͝ȩ͜t̨̀͝."

Wait, where was Fresh!?

"It isn't like I wanted to, dear. I blame Fresh for that... Speaking of, he's a glitch you've clearly known longer than I. Why haven't you focused on destroying him first?"

Leaping backwards to avoid another group of strings, you collided with a warm body, and froze when bony arms pinned your own to your sides...

"brah, that's cold! i'm just tryin' to make my way through the multiverse and spread my radical freshness for all to enjoy!"

A feeling of deep disturbance settled within your soul at his close proximity... both the feeling of prey caught by a predator, and the sound of a soul screaming in pain near your own... Whose soul was screaming like that? It felt like...

" _Funk_."

You ignored the censorship of your swear, and began to struggle against his grip. Unfortunately, your body had been built primarily for speed and agility, and no matter how strong you were, a Sans was usually stronger than you... 

"sorry brah, can't have any of that colorful lingo here. totally un-fresh."

A quick glance was cast around for anything nearby that could help you, and nothing was within reach, but you could see Ink through a hole in the fallen boulders. He was watching you, and appeared startled when an odd white portal opened up beside Error... Wait, they weren't planning on removing you from the universe, were they!?

"Well, pardon my rude language, but one often uses colorful words when in colorful situations such as this."

Fresh began to move towards the portal, and you attempted to change your own gravity to pull the opposite direction, struggling within his unusually strong grip. Error smirked at that, and you tried to teleport away, but something was cutting off your access to the quantum possibilities... what the hell!?

"that's okay my fine lady friend, ya just gotta relax and let me snack on your soul a bit, then everything will be absolutely fresh!"

...OKAY, THIS WAS GETTING JUST A TINY BIT HORRIFYING.

Your struggles increased- you would not just relax, thank you- but the portal was reached despite them. If you left this timeline now, you wouldn't be able to return on your own- unless you had the best luck ever, which you don't- and you'd never know what happened to your companion! What happened to him!?

"dang, you're wild, brah! no chill at all! is it cuz you're scared?"

As he pulled you into the portal, stepping backwards to keep you between himself and Error, you stared out into the timeline you were unwillingly leaving behind. Ink appeared to be watching you go and not even trying to help- what the hell!?- with a sad smile on his skull. First Fresh throws your Mercy back in your face, now Ink is just leaving you to the wolves? That dirty back-stabber!

"Any rational being would be scared whilst being kidnapped, and I'd like to keep thinking that I'm still rational despite centuries spent mostly alone, thank you."

As Error stepped in, the portal began to close slowly, as though mocking you. You sent a weighted stare at Ink on the other side... but he didn't react. His gaze had shifted to peer at something beside him with concern, and just before the portal shut completely, you saw...

"welcome to the anti-void, brah! the totally radtastic expanse of brightness where glitch-boy lives and plays with his dolls!"

The portal closed with finality, and you ceased your struggling, hanging there in limp denial. Unfortunately, keeping a conscious hold upon denial had never been your strong suit, and it slowly faded away as you began to think...

"Anti-Void, you say?"

These words were spoken in a dead tone as you considered the implications of such a dimension's existence. The Void was sheer nothingness, so did that mean this place was sheer everything? If so, you probably wouldn't be able to shortcut out... Dipping into some of the deeper physics behind the matter, shortcuts worked by condensing negative matter and pulling oneself through. In a dimension where there was everything existing simultaneously, negative matter would be virtually impossible to condense as such...

"s̕͠h̕u͏̴̷͝t͡͏͏ ̵̢̛͟u̵̢͜͡p҉̢̛͟͝ ҉̕f̴̡r̶͏̵͝͝é҉̴s͢͟͡҉h̵̡̕͢!̴̶̨͘͜ ̶̸͜͏t͠҉͢h͢҉͟e̷̵̕y̷̷̵̷͡'̴̡̛̕͜r͡͏̷͘e͏̨̀ ̢́͞n̴̡̛͝o̷̧t̷͞ ̵҉̧̛͢d̷͘ó̷l̢l̀́͡͝s͝͞҉̡͠,̡̢̕͜ ͟t̵͟h͢͟͢͜͞è͢͜͝y̶̴̛'̵̴͞r͢͞é̛͢͏̛ ̷̧͟p̶̨͝ų͠p͏̨͘͟p̵҉̵̡͘e̸̕͠͝t̵́s̴͢͝!"

As you considered being trapped here with these two beings, both of whom had attacked your companion and yourself multiple times, a burning feeling began to rise up within your soul. As you thought about the underhanded strategy Fresh had used to get you here, and as you thought about how Error was responsible for the deaths of several newfound friends, the burning feeling grew. The darkness of the void magic within your soul began to swell, and in a burst of furious strength, you finally escaped the grasp of the neon skeleton- _too little, too late, you dirty sideline sitter_.

Knowing that these two had committed atrocious crimes against others even more expansive than those against yourself, you were filled with...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, happy with that majority vote of 3 yet? xD
> 
> Do keep in mind that 2 of the 4 assumed dead were not actually seen as dead, i.e. no confirmed dust... >;3


	36. There was Vengeance to be Found

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new acronym is defined, and the three primary roles of magic are revealed.

_LUST_.

It was something you hadn't felt for decades, maybe centuries, something you'd tried to avoid experiencing ever since that self defense kill...

LUST, like LOVE or EXP, is an acronym. It stands for the phrase, 'Levels Under Solicited Transition,' and is basically defined as 'the desire for and deliberate gain of EXP and LOVE.' This manifests itself both physically and mentally within the soul, and is primarily found in human souls or monster souls with strong aspect traits of Justice or Rectitude. Dating back to the times where monsters and humans roamed the world together, it is such an old phrase amongst monsterkind that it could only be found in pre-war writings, due to the utter lack of such a thing without human interaction in most universes... 

You see, this state of mind originates from the soul at moments of highly negative emotion, and is most often triggered within the souls of Justice after a wrong has been done to others or themselves, although any soul can fall into this state of mind. Without negative interaction with humanity causing the Great War, LUST would never have been defined, and would simply have continued to be confused with the human term 'bloodlust'.

Having been re-discovered in your mostly-human soul by Doctor Gaster himself, the physical manifestations of LUST in the soul were modified slightly in his following subjects, with the goal to add extra damage to their attacks based on how much LOVE their enemy possessed... _Karmic Retribution_. A pinch of Justice added to a bucket of Patience and Integrity- the primary core traits of the Sanses in most universes- and LUST was watered down safely by the moral knowledge of when its use was right and wrong and the ability to wait until it was no longer overpowering. With souls like these, it only made sense that Magic would appoint them to be its Judge.

Due to your primarily human soul, you possessed a greater risk of falling into this dangerous state of mind. Justice was not your main trait and never could be, but you had more of it and Rectitude than most monsters- Undyne and Gerson equivalents were perhaps the only living monsters that matched and surpassed you in that regard. Fortunately, the greater amount of Integrity within your soul gave you the knowledge of when it was right to be used, and the Perseverance in you gave you the backing to go through with it or stand against it... and right now, your soul was telling you to unleash your LUST.

These two multiversal skeletons facing you, Error and Fresh... they had a lot of innocent blood and dust on their hands. If you hadn't seen their violent tendencies on your own, it never would have been brought to your attention at all, but it was far too late for that. Error had blasted Hip-Hop and Patch right in front of you, and laughed about it. Fresh, whatever he was doing, was causing his body's own soul agony of the worst kind without even breaking a sweat... you could barely believe that you ever thought he was a Sans.

It was taking everything you had to keep your unstable magic from exploding the way it wanted to, facing these two. LUST was different from KR, in that it couldn't be used so passively... one needed an iron grip to control it in such a manner, and you had never gotten such a grip before nor after ending up in the Void. Now, it begged to be used, and you only held back because you would not return from that path unscathed. In the primal state of LUST, none without sins to their souls were spared, whether they were involved in the matter at hand or not...

Closing your sockets for a few moments and then reopening them, you focused upon the two skeletons in the near distance, and tilted your head with a mockingly wide grin glowing in the darkness of your hood. The LUST begged to be used, begged to rain vengeance upon these two for the wrongs done to their victims, but you would only allow it use of your voice... for now.

"Judge. Jury. Executioner. These three roles have been present within magical beings since the creation of magic itself, and primarily act as a method for keeping the balance between orderly love and chaotic LOVE. Each role has its specific service offered, and no role is meant to be isolated from the other two involved..."

The skeletons before you listened, if only because what you were saying was something new to them.

"The Judge exists to factually measure the amount of LOVE within a soul, and declare a suitable judgement. The Jury exists to hear the words of the people involved, innocent and guilty alike, and determine how the factual judgement given needs to be altered in each situation. Finally, the Executioner exists to make certain that the final judgement is carried out, and the balance is restored."

Standing upright, you felt your soul burning with the words you spoke, and lowered your hood to reveal your hair and eyelights burning with it. Brilliant indigo light flared around you, streaks of all soul colors seeping through in several places, the brightest streaks being your strongest traits...

"In most universes, the three roles were separated by the Barrier, and imbalance began to overtake each affected world. As such, magic sought a solution, and this being the Multiverse, there were infinite solutions found. In most cases, magic was lost to humans, restoring the balance by forcing all three roles onto Monsterkind. In others, the Barrier was broken sooner, allowing the previous balance to right itself. Sometimes monsters were wiped out and the roles rested solely upon human Mages. Sometimes the balance was never regained and all beings affected began to fall to the chaotic LUST for LOVE- UnderFell based universes are an example of this."

Smiling, you took a step forward, your wide grin revealing teeth almost as sharp as freshly whetted knives.

"This imbalance is one of the background causes of the timeline loops, one of the main reasons that the RESETs ever became possible. You might notice that the human child loses their ability to RESET after so long on the Surface, at the end of a Pacifist Timeline, yes? That is the restoration of balance at work. That is REDEMPTION at work. The child broke the Barrier and reconciled the two main species that magic serves and uses... redeeming them both in its primal recognition."

Fresh seemed interested in what you had to say, having seated himself comfortably on the white expanse beneath him, and Error just appeared bored. Haha, these two were getting a free lesson whether they liked it or not.

"Now, why am I telling you this, you may wonder? What could all of this possibly be leading up to, you might ask? Well, my dear Error and Fresh, allow me to get to the point. Error, you are the Judge of your lost universe, and have been isolated from your balancers. Insanity is the fate of those who have been separated as long as you have, and your actions and comments support the theory that you have, in fact, succumbed to said fate. And Fresh... whatever you are, the body you have is also a Judge, and keeping it from its timeline is simply asking for it to meet the same fate as Error. However... the both of you are not beyond redemption. As much as I dislike saying it, you still have the doorway to redeem yourselves open, despite the wrongs you have committed."

The LUST within you had settled slightly at the speech you'd made, and after taking a deep breath, you appeared a little calmer.

"It is not my role to pass judgment, no matter how hot my LUST boils, but I have been isolated from the other roles of my timeline for long enough that I have learned how to do so. The Judge offers Retribution. The Jury offers Redemption. The Executioner offers Resolution. Now I must ask you one question, and one question alone..."

You grinned coldly, not a speck of true positive emotion within your smile as you finished speaking.

"As the Judges of your respective universes- loosely speaking- do you believe that you deserve Retribution or Redemption?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just for funsies, to those of you who voted for Redemption those few chapters ago, do you still believe they deserve the chance to redeem themselves? If so, why?


	37. But the High Road was Taken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You hold onto your hope, and after a few hours of wandering, encounter something interesting!

With a beatific smile, you waved away the responses of the two multiversal skeletons as insignificant, and proceeded to paraphrase a few lines of judgment...

"Truthfully, it doesn't matter what you said. All that's important is that you were honest with yourself. What happens now, I leave up to you. Though... something about the two of you strikes me as kinda odd."

Error's head snapped up as you quoted his past self, and remained in place. By the way he was gritting his teeth, listening to you was annoying him, but he restrained himself from attacking. Beside him, Fresh sat with his smile unwavering, seemingly unaffected by everything you had said thus far.

"Now, I understand acting in self-defense. When the two of you came into existence and went about your lives, you were thrown into countless situations against your will. But... if you have some sort of special power, isn't it your responsibility to do the right thing?"

The two skeletons glanced at each other, then glanced at you, a smile on one face and a frown on the other.

"it's not like i have a choice, brah. i need soul energy to survive, and takin' it hurts the souls i take it from."

...that was news to you. He sounded so certain that there was no alternative... but there was always the possibility of one existing in timelines. Maybe he just needed a reminder of this.

"The Multiverse is infinite. If you exist, there are countless other versions of yourself that also exist, whether in other universes or only your own timelines. In one of those timelines, there's bound to be a version of you that's learned to survive without harming others. Maybe try to find it."

He shrugged, and you took that noncommittal answer as the best answer you would get for now. Hopefully he would take the opportunity to better himself... it could be the only thing that keeps him alive in the future of his timeline.

Turning to Error, you nodded to indicate that you were ready to hear his answer, an expression of pensive neutrality upon your face.

"ỳ̷ơ̵͞ư͢ŕ͡ ͘͢͝͝͞d̷̶̢͢ę̴̢͡͝f̨̀͡į̛́͘͢ǹ̴ì͞t̴̕͏̛i̵̡͞ơ̷n̨͏̴͝ ̸͟͠ò͢͞f̸̵͝ ͜t̀̕h́͏͢e҉̢ ̷̀҉͏͠ŗ̴͠i̴̷ģ̸̕͞h̀t̨̕͟͜͞ ̢t̵͘͝h͏i̴̷̸̕n̴̸͘͢͏g̵͢҉̶͠ ͟͡ì̵͟s̶̵̷ ̶̡͘s̸̢̛t̨͞͞u̴̕͘͡p̶͟ì̸̛͜ḑ̴̵̢́."

You grinned and brought your gloved hands up in the best imitation of a Sans equivalent's 'i don't care' shrug that you could do, before lowering them to your sides in a stance of unrealistic ease.

"Haha, well, that's your viewpoint. I won't judge you for it..."

The atmosphere dropped as you completed your paraphrasing, your hair freezing in its sway and your eyelights going dark...

"...y o u d i r t y m u r d e r e r."

Focusing on your magic, you reached for the quantum possibilities of your body's position, hoping that the Anti-Void truly acted as the opposite of the Void. Whereas one couldn't teleport in the Void due to the lack of possibilities, it should be entirely possible to teleport here due to the overabundance of possibilities... 

You needed to be away from these two for a while. If you stayed any longer, you'd try to kill one or both them, and you _knew_ that they could be better people if they just tried. Haha... you wanted to give them that chance to try. You wanted them to realize their wrongdoings, you wanted them to realize that they could do better. Granted, they had good excuses- Error was literally insane, and Fresh needed to feed off of soul energy to just _survive_ \- but maybe they could help each other. Maybe... they could work together to better themselves.

With a blink of your bone lids, you found yourself alone in the expanse of endless white, and began to theorize on the properties of this place to give yourself a distraction from your thoughts on the two. Shortcuts were impossible here- a quick try confirmed your previous hypothesis- which meant that you wouldn't be able to leave this dimension until you figured out the trick to do so. It had taken you half a decade to figure out the trick to the Void- and that was _with_ the help/hindrance of the amalgamated Gaster- so things didn't exactly spell out good fortune for your quest...

However, you had an incredible amount of theories on the nature of universes and the Multiverse, most of which had yet to be disproved, and the knowledge of centuries behind you. Even if you were alone here, you would be able to escape eventually... all you needed to do was avoid the other two beings present. That should be easy enough, correct?

Anti-Void... Anti-Void... The Void was an expanse of true nothingness. As such, its opposite would be an expanse of true everything. Everything all at once, from all possible dimensional planes, from all times, existing simultaneously... Such a concept was beyond true comprehension, and as such, it was interpreted as an empty white expanse. White, because white was the color of the visual light spectrum that resulted from all other colors superimposed over each other. It was strange how that wasn't true with paint, but this was science, not art class.

Art class... paint... Ink. Now that he had his brush, he would supposedly be able to travel anywhere in the Multiverse, if what he claimed about it was true. He hadn't said how to get his attention, however... How could he locate someone without that? You couldn't rely on him to find you here... but you could still believe that he'd kept Note safe. If you believed anything else at this time, you would break down, and that was not an option.

Sitting down, you closed your bone lids and began to regulate your breathing. Panicking would do you absolutely no good, and only put you at risk in this place. Logical analysis was required for the most efficient completion of this Escape-The-Anti-Void quest, not emotional dithering and distraction. You could allow yourself to mourn later, when you were somewhere safe...

Satisfied with the temporary break, you opened your bone lids and stood up, deciding that constant movement would be safer than staying in one place. The Uncertainty Principle applied quite nicely to things other than particles, essentially everything in fact.

In basic phrasing, the Uncertainty Principle states that the more you know of where a particle is, the less you know of where it will be, and vice versa. It would be safer if you kept your whereabouts unknown, as that would only allow them to know where you will be... they wouldn't know _when_ you will be there just because they know you will be there. It's a beautiful little loophole to life that you used to your advantage quite often.

Of course, it would also be safer if you weren't as curious as a human, but that blue and gray speck in the distance looked like something that didn't belong here. Naturally you just _had_ to approach it, and without any cover to protect yourself with, you had to move quickly to remain behind it. As you approached, you observed it carefully, reaching for the hood of your cloak and pulling it up to obscure your features once more. Whatever it was could be a trap... or _worse_...

It didn't seem to move, so perhaps it was inanimate? That made it more likely to be a trap, but traps were the specialty of Papyrus equivalents. Error was a Sans equivalent, and Fresh... seemed to also be a Sans equivalent, but acted differently than both Sanses and Papyruses. Thus, if this was a trap, it was made by someone other than these two.

 _Just how many multiversal travelers used this place?_ It seemed like you were the odd one out, using the Void instead of this Anti-Void.

Finally getting close to the blue and grey object, you noticed that it had a rather familiar shape to it. Indeed, once you were close enough to touch it, a careful poke confirmed your hypothesis... it was the battle body of an UnderSwap Sans. There was no dust attached to it, so it wasn't the remainder of a killed Blueberry... Were there skeletons who got stuck here as well as the Void?

Picking up the shiny silver armor, you began to inspect it closer for clues as to the fate of its owner. The object buzzed with imbued magic, a kind you were unfamiliar with, and you found yourself freezing in place as it abruptly surged outwards in cyan shockwaves. It... that was a beacon. The thing had alerted someone to your presence with that blast, and the lingering buzz of energy flowing through it was disrupting your magic while acting like a magnetizer of some sort... your hands were stuck to it.

That clever bastard! Well, whoever made it. You highly doubted that it was a creation of Error or Fresh, what with this magic signature and the situation itself simply _screaming_ Blueberry... sneaky little bugger. Damn your curiosity.

Sitting down with the desire of seeing the creator of this trap, and the unwillingness to lose your gloves, you began to wait patiently. In this endless expanse of white you would've seen someone nearby, and due to most Blueberries being unable to teleport, you suspected that you had a long wait ahead of you. Hopefully the results of your waiting would be interesting enough to compensate for the time lost doing so...

Eventually, the sound of shuffling nearby caught your attention. It sounded as though someone was running up to you, and the unusual voice that spoke to you indicated that yes, the wait was worth it.

"M͡WE̕H!͏ YOU F̶IN̡ALLY͟ ͟CA̧ME ͡BÁC̨K! ̛D͟OES ͝TH͢IS͟ ͜M̸ĘA̴N͜ ͜Y͟O҉U'͘R͡E NOT M͜A̴D̶ A̡T҉ M͢E ̕ANY̛.҉.̴. W͏A̕IT,͞ YOU͝'͘R̷E͠ ͢ǸO̡T ҉ER҉R͡O̢R͢.̀.̛."

You turned, and gazed into the light blue eyelights of a confused and slightly glitching UnderSwap Sans. Slowly, your permanent smile widened, and you stood up to your full height just an inch shorter than him.

"How very, very interesting... Hello, I am Arista. Who might you be?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I was writing this chapter, the votes between Retribution and Redemption were tied. So, Error and Fresh were effectively given the treatment as though they were the human that had murdered Papyrus, and subsequently given the opportunity to think about whether they wanted to be thrashed on or redeemed.
> 
> Arista has difficulty tamping down her hope because it's all she's had keeping her going, and that hope believes that they can be better people if they have the chance and a guiding hand. So by effectively doing nothing, she hopes that the judgement/advice given to them will convince them to change, give them a push in the right direction.
> 
> The next time they meet each other again, the circumstances and individual desires of Error and Fresh will determine their fates. Perhaps they will fight, perhaps they will resolve things without a single phalanx raised. It depends on what happens next =)
> 
> ~~~~
> 
> Also, Error!Blueberry Sans is now open for communication! Yes, he can hear your comments, BEWAAAAAAARE~
> 
> Feel free to ask him questions and try giving helpful advice. Who knows? He might take it~


	38. In Search of Better Titles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Magnificent Blueberry is given a unique nickname, and the two of you theorize an escape.

The Blueberry had introduced himself as the Magnificent Sans, which gave you the slight dilemma of deciding a name that couldn't be confused with the other versions of himself. He seemed a bit more reserved than his other timeline versions- timeline, not universe, timeline- which was fairly telling of how long he'd been here. It must've been quite a while, what with him being able to hear voices in his head... 

"I̸'M S̡O͏RR̛Y, ̨BUT̴ ͢THE̵R̡E͘ IS̕N'͜T͜ A͟ŃY͝T̷H̢I͠N̛G TO ̛C̨O̡O͢K ͏O͜R̵ BU͟IL̴D PU̕ZZL̵ES͘ WIT͏H ͝R̀I͡GHT N͜OW.͢.͞.̢ ͝AND ̛YǪU͏'̶RE ͜K̢I҉ND͘A A ̶DISEM͠B̸ODIĘD ̸VO͘I͏ÇE?͠ SOR̡R̶Y͜."

...yet he seemed to have retained his innocence quite nicely. That was good- either he was strong enough to stick to his morals, or the voices in his head were nice.

"A ͘GEN͠U͟IN̛E͝ C̸OM̕PL͝I̕M̵ENT,̧ ́T͝H͠ANK ͝Y͝ǪU! AND͝ I AM͠ ̵QUI̡TE̴ C̛ERTA͘I͜Ǹ S̵H͜E ̵WON͠'T͘ H̨U̡RT ́ME.̀ ĮF S͝HE͟ W̷AS̡ GOING͏ ̢TO,̷ SHE ͏C͏OULD'̢VE͡ A̵LREA͡DY ̷TRI̷E͝D͡ ͏T̴O͘! I̶ ͝WI͠SH I ͘KN̶EW WHA͟T̸ W͘AS U̴NDE͜R̀ T̡H̛E CL͢O͜AK TH͢OUGH.̷.. ̸I͢T͏'S̸ ͢K͠IN͘D ̡OF C͢RE̵E͘PY TA̴L͢KI͏NG T͠O A ̀ŞEEM҉I͘NGL͝Y ĘN҉D͏L҉ȨSS͢ ͢HOĹE͜ OF ̷DÁR͜K̛NESS͞. ̢REM̛IND͠S M҉E̷ ҉ÓF̀ WHY̛ I͞ D̛ON'͏T TR͞AVEL͏ ON T̷HĘ ͡RIVÈRP̛E̷RSON͜'S̸ B͡OA̵T ͠M͝UC҉H͟."

You didn't really question the existence of the voices. There were too many things about the Multiverse that you still didn't understand.

After removing the battle body chestplate from your gloved hands, the Sans had set it back up in its trapped position, and told you that it was to give him warning about Error's arrival. He'd been surprised to see somebody else in this place, and was also incredibly relieved that you were real and not a hallucination. Error had imagined or hallucinated a human female named DarkBlitz, and he really didn't want to be following in the glitch lord's mental footsteps.

Unfortunately, he didn't seem to know the trick of escaping this place, although he did try to demonstrate the hand gesture and magic movement Error had made to do so. It was interesting, how the magic had seemed to push on the matter of this place instead of pull like an ordinary shortcut, and you told him so. He hadn't had the experience of taking shortcuts, however, and you couldn't demonstrate it in this place... Thus, the conversation had rolled around to possible nicknames for him, in the event that the two of you managed to escape together.

Yeah, you weren't about to abandon the innocent Blueberry to the suffocating silence of this place.

"Hmm... Most Sanses from your home universe- UnderSwap, that is- are nicknamed Blueberry. Sometimes you're called Blue, sometimes Berry, and sometimes your real name, but those are all such common nicknames that they're unsuitable for multiversal travel."

A thoughtful hum from your new companion had you looking over at him with curiosity, and you took a moment to glance over his outfit once more. White t-shirt: check. Navy blue sweatpants: check. Sky blue gloves and boots: check. Matching sky blue bandana: check. All in all, the Blueberry looked like a Blueberry sans his armor... Perfect for determining the original universe, while standing out just enough to be recognized as different from the rest.

"HOW̷ ͢ABOUT BL͏ƯR̀?͏ ̨I'M͝ ̢N͏OT҉ ͞J̡UST̀ ANỲ ̸CǪM͏M̨O̷N ̸BLUEB̷ER̵R̨Y͜ ÁROUN͡D̛,̀ N͠O͝T̶ AǸY̸MO̵RE͘.̢.͠.̛ B͏UT ͘I̴T ̨HĄS ̡S̕OME͜ ͟OF ́THE S̡A͡M͘E͝ ͞L͠E̡TTER͏S,̧ A͡ND̢ ̵I͟T ̷SO͠U͏NDS LI͝KE̶ A ̕CO͝OL̵ S̡U̷PE̵R͝H̢E͟RO͠ N͟A͏ME!̛"

You blinked, and a genuine grin slowly spread across your skull. He was just almost too adorable to handle.

"That sounds lovely, Blurry dear. You certainly move about in a blur when you have your mind set to something... or when you're experiencing a sugar rush. All you need to do is avoid crashing."

The poor skeleton looked scandalized at the reminder. He'd puked on his own brother! Although to be fair, Papy had puked on his battle body too, after trying the whiskey that Grillby had given him... Still. Puking on his little brother like that had been an embarrassing moment.

"PL͜E͠A͏SE ͢D̨O͘N͠'҉T͏ M͝EN͟T̨I̴O̶N THA͠T TO̢ ̶ĄǸY̢B̀ODÝ.͝"

With a chuckle, you nodded in agreement to remain silent on the matter, and the two of you lapsed into a comfortable silence. Comfortable, no longer oppressive, because there was someone else present to speak to should the desire arise. Indeed, this place was so vast and quiet that having nothing to focus on was enough to drive one insane... similar to the Void, in that regard, but it was warm instead of cold.

This difference had that spark of scientific curiosity within you flaring. This place was called the Anti-Void, but did it truly act as an opposite? Perhaps you could teach Blur a bit about the Multiverse while rambling.

"The Void, where I live, is the sheer absence of everything. It is a paradoxical place, for nothing by being nothing is being something, and this paradox is what I suspect allows matter to exist within it. Unaffected by time, it is the dimension that permeates and acts as a barrier between all other universes, and can be used to witness the timelines of the universes it surrounds through condensed windows. The nothingness is a counterbalance for the somethings of all the universes, and evidently, this Anti-Void as well."

The male skeleton seemed slightly confused by the sudden change of subject, but listened to your one-way conversation with some measure of curious enthusiasm.

"By logical analysis, this Anti-Void must be an opposite to the Void in all senses of the word. Our minds are only capable of visually processing things within our own three dimensions, so we cannot see if this Anti-Void is truly made up of everything opposed to nothing... If we had the equipment, we could measure the amount of matter and mass present here as opposed to the Void, but even without equipment I can feel the pressure that comes from atomically thick air... It is indeed opposite the Void, where one more or less floats freely unless they possess the magic to anchor themself."

Peering over at Blur from within your hood, you noticed him with an expression of deep thought. Of course, you were aware that Papyrus equivalents were smarter than they looked... The thought process of such a savant would be beneficial to escaping this place, once he had enough relevant information. Alone, it would take the two of you years to escape, but working together would cut that time down exponentially.

"S͟O͟,́ U̶M,͞ Y̕OU ́K͟N͜OW̢ ͝H̴OW TO ͟GE͟T͢ I͡N͢ ̡ÀND ͡O̷U̴T̴ OF ̕THE̕ VO̢ID͠.̷ ͜EVĘR̡YT҉H҉ĮN̛G ̴IS ͢OPPƠS͠I͞TE ͠HER͟E͏, S̵O̧ W̕H҉AT IF ̨T͝HE̷ ͞ME͞THOD FO͝R ͢GĘT͠T͞I̵NG̵ ̢I͢N̢ ͘A̷ND̡ ̧O̢UT̀ ҉OF͡ ̴HE̸RE͠ IS͠ O͏PPOSITÉ ͢T̵H͟E̵ ͟M͢ET̕HOD FOR G͝ET͘TIǸG̵ IN AN͘D OUT ̴OF THE ͏VOI͏D?"

You blinked, then stared at the Blueberry. He seemed to get uncomfortable under your scrutiny, and opened his mouth to say something that was probably dismissive of his question, but you cut him off before he could do that to himself.

"...Brilliant, dear Blur. Absolutely brilliant. This is why teamwork exists."

Turning forward, you raised a gloved hand up to the air before you, and began to focus your magic. As you did so, you reached over with your other hand and grasped one of Blur's, bringing it up to rest on top of your magic-charged hand. This done, you began to explain yourself.

"You have the capability to teleport and use shortcuts like most other Sanses, but it isn't usually discovered due to your brother protecting you. Only in times of great stress can it be learned- and I'd say you've been fairly stressed for the past while, if those faint glitches about your body are anything to go by- so you should be of the right mindset to learn."

Blur nodded, focusing on the flow of the magic within your hand. He remained silent, taking in what you were teaching him like a sponge to water.

"Now, the ordinary shortcut method is how I enter and exit the Void. I condense the nothingness into a small point just in front of me, and using my magic, pull myself and others with me through the point as though it were a dimensional box. This is a jarring experience for most beings their first so many times, but it is the most efficient way of using shortcuts, and requires the least amount of energy compared to other shortcut methods."

That sounded like it would be painful. He couldn't quite remember what exactly Undyne had said about dimensional boxes when explaining them to him, but he remembered that they worked by condensing the matter of the chosen objects into a tiny space... This sounded similar to that.

"Due to this place being the opposite, it is likely that the method of shortcuts required to get in and out of this place would be different. Instead of condensing the nothing, perhaps it is necessary to spread apart the something... You've seen Error travel in and out of this place, and observed the manner in which he does so. Guide my hand and magic into the observed pattern with your own, and I'll supply my shortcut knowledge to make it work."

Oh cheeze-its, from the way things sounded, he only had one shot to do this correctly. Regaining energy in this place would be difficult without food, and there wasn't exactly an abundance of food within reach...

"A̢-A̢R̕E ̵YOU̸ SURE͡?̢"

He felt you nod in front of him, and heard a response that filled him with determination...

"Absolutely. I believe in you."

Bringing his hand up with yours, Blur charged his magic, and swiped the air in the pattern he'd observed. He couldn't let down someone who believed in him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> »w»
> 
> Two votes for y'all today!  
> 1: Black or Gold?  
> 2: A, B, or C?


	39. There Was No Lack of Motivation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What better way to celebrate escaping a dimension of endless possibilities than to get down and do some hardcore TRAINING!?

On the other side, you grinned in victory, and hugged the Blueberry in a rare show of excitement.

"WE DID IT! THEORETICAL IMPOSSIBILITY CAN SUCK IT!"

Blur seemed happy to celebrate with you, but a scandalized look formed upon his face at the last sentence you spoke.

"I'M̷ HA̶PP̡Y̷ WE ͠E̸SCA̡P̧ED, ̕BU̕T ̶PLE͟AS̀E ͟DON'T̡ BE͡ ҉LE͞WD ÀB̵O͝U͠T͢ I͜T̨!"

You released your fellow skeleton and bounced on your heels happily, nodding in agreement as you looked around your surroundings.

"No trouble, Blurry dear, no trouble. We should figure out which universe we are in, however, if we wish to continue our celebration in one piece."

The mood dipped at the reminder of dangerous universes, and you were almost disappointed with yourself for making the Blueberry look more solemn. Unfortunately, safety came first, and this was both a learning opportunity for the skeleton and a distraction for you... Denial was something you slipped into easily.

"Right. Sorry. Anyways, the way I figure out the safety of a universe is in three simple steps. First step, check your environment. Is there monster dust? Is there human blood? Are there strangely colored liquids and questionable stains? What are the nearby beings dressed like? Take a look around and tell me what you think of the first step."

Blur did as he was told with admittedly less enthusiasm at the thought of questionable stains lying about, scanning the admittedly odd environment. Fortunately for his relatively innocent mind, there was no dust, blood, or strange liquid around, and he began to search for monsters to find out what they were wearing. As he did so, you kept close by, keeping a lookout for the inexperienced skeleton's back and scanning the surroundings yourself.

There were no monsters about, and surprisingly, the landscape itself appeared to be twisted in some manner. The area you'd taken that shortcut to was the entrance to Waterfall... but instead of water, there was brightly glowing lava. What sort of universe was this?

"Due to the lack of monsters, we rely upon the previous clues of step one. So far, the universe is presumably safe for us, in that violent monsters or humans won't be attacking us with lethal force. However, when there are strange landscapes such as this, the environment itself is a danger, and we must proceed to step two with caution."

Slowly, carefully, you held a gloved hand over the lava... and dipped a few phalanges in. Your companion panicked and yanked you back from the lava, staring at the substance and getting ready for pained screaming-

"This universe has switched the properties of lava and water. The lava here is safe, but don't jump into the water I presume would be found in Hotland... that will probably kill you."

...WELL, THERE GO ALL OF HIS PREVIOUS IDEAS OF REALITY, RIGHT INTO THE APPARENTLY TOTALLY SAFE LAVA.

"Anyways, step two- check the human equivalent. The universes naturally have a draw to the times that a human is in the Underground, whether it's the last human, the first human, or anywhere in between, but mostly draws random travelers like us to the times of the last human. Due to us being in Waterfall, the human is probably somewhere in Snowdin... and knowing what this universe is, I can say that they're bringing step three- checking on the skeletons- with them."

Blur looked over at your cloaked figure, an expression of confidence upon his skull.

"S͘H̵O̶ÚL̵D W̷E̛ ҉W̸A҉I͠T ̢HE̶R͢E ͘F̷O͟R͡ TḨEM͝ OR̛ GO L̨OO̧KING̨ ̛NOW?"

You smiled a genuine smile, clasping your gloved hands behind your back as you responded. He trusted you! Not that he didn't have any reason not to, and Papyrus equivalents were exceptionally trusting, but they only trusted people they believed in! If that wasn't an emotional boost, you didn't know what was.

"Waiting for them allows them to gain a semblance of security. By letting them approach on their own, we are giving them a form of control over an otherwise uncontrolled situation, and that control lends itself to a sense of safety. It is similar to dealing with particularly skittish animals, cats for example. Appear non-threatening and let them approach you on their own terms."

The Sans blinked, looking into the darkness of your hood with a suddenly unreadable expression.

".҉..̴IS ͏TH͡ĄT̢ WHY̶ Y͏OU̷ ͞S̷TA̴YȨD I̢N̡ ͜M̛Y̛ T͟R͜AP EA͝RLI̡ER̴?"

Pleased by the clever deduction of your current companion, the smile on your face widened slightly as you sat down on the counter of the nearby sentry station.

"How very astute of you, Blur, that is correct. By allowing you to approach me with the advantage, I was automatically seen as less of a threat, and subsequently easier to communicate with. That easier communication allowed you to see that I wasn't going to harm you quicker than you would've if I had approached you. It is a similar situation here. Of course, we could leave this universe behind and start training you on shortcuts, but it'd probably be beneficial to stay out of any endless dimensions of incomprehensible existential statuses for a short while as an adjustment period."

He joined you on the counter, swinging his legs back and forth with obvious cheer.

"MAGN͞IFIC͢EN͞T!̸ BY͡ STA͝YING HÈRE AND͜ ͢LETTI͠N̨G ͢T̴HE͢M͞ C͞O̧M̕É ͡T͠Ơ U͝S̴, ҉T͏H̀E̷Y͟'͟L̴L͝ ͡S͝E̵E ͡THAT ͏WE'R͘E PE̕ŔFE͞CTLỲ ͝HA̵R̶M̴L̨ES̛S͏! ͡AL̴L W̡E ͜HA͠V̧E̴ ҉TO̴ DO̧ ̷IS ͟WAIT͠ PAT͝I̢ENT͢L͏Y̢, ̶A̕ND ̕T̕HE ͢M͞AG͟NIFIC̡E̛ŃT͠ BL̶U͠Ŕ IS THE B̨ES̸T ̵A͢T ͡EVE͠R̷YT͏HI̕NG HE҉ ͢D͡O̵E͠S!̷ ͠I'́M͢ ̴S̕U͝R͜È Y͟OU̧ ̷W̵IL̴L ̴WA̸I҉T S̡P͠ĹENDIDL͟Y T͏OO̵!͝"

Oh no. Restrain your laughter, restrain it!

"Tha-that sounds about right, Blur dear. While we wait, is there anything you'd like to do? Eat something, talk a bit, some training?"

Stars appeared in his eyes as he leapt up in absolute enthusiasm, looking like a little kid on Gyftmas morning. It was as though merely speaking that last option had been as good an offer as breaking the Barrier and having a sleepover party under the stars... yes, you'd seen a Blueberry get this excited over that exact scenario.

"F̛INAL̸LY̴ ҉S̸O̷M͢EÓNE W͢HO̸ ̴I̸S͢N̡'T ͝L͜A̕Z͢Y҉! TR͡A̡I̴N͝IN̕G͟ ̡P҉LÈA̵S͝E!?̕!"

Oh, precious cinnamon roll, too pure for this world.

You hopped back down from the counter, and with an absent-minded focus on the imbued magic of your cloak, withdrew the article into its shawl form. The hood remained up, as you hadn't yet revealed your skeletal appearance to this companion of yours, and weren't planning to. Doing so would risk attachment beyond the distraction you were already leeching from him... and that wasn't an option right now.

"Now, shortcuts won't be taught until we're leaving this universe. My method variation is only suitable for entering and exiting the Void, but it will do as a good basic setup for any future lessons from the Sans equivalents who are famous for the ability. For now, is there anything else you'd like to work on or learn?"

He stood ready, a wide grin upon his skull as a bone came into his grip. Surprisingly, it had shaped itself into a large sword, the wide, flat blade bigger than the skeleton holding it.

"I see Alphys really hammered that human anime into you nicely. That's a classic zanbato right there, one that brings to mind the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. Is that the weapon you're most comfortable with?"

Blur shook his head, his smile not diminishing in the slightest.

"NOP̡Ȩ! ̕TH̡AT'͞S̸ WHY̢ I'͘M ͏TRA҉I͝N̛I̧N̸G WITH TH͠I͝S̸ ͢WEA̕P̶ON͘! PR̀A͠CTI҉CE̴ MA̴K͏ȨS̨ ̢P̸ER̵F̢EC͠T, ҉AND I ͘W̶ANT ͘AL̛PH̴Y͟S ̡TO SEE̶ ̕HOW͡ M҉UC͝H͞ I͘'̵V͜E ҉I̷MPROVE͏D̕ W̛H͜E̡N̶ I ́GÈT BA͟ÇK H̵O͞ME̴ ͝A͡ND ́E̵VERỲT͝H͞I͠N͠G̵ I̡S ́F͘I̛XED!̵"

Well, you can't quite argue with that logic. Being in a timeless place for long enough does tend to grant someone a measure of immunity to the RESETs, and although that immunity does eventually fade, the skills learned during it are often retained.

"A very sound logic, that. Try to go easy on me, I'm a delicate flower."

You straightened up, charging your magic and opening a small hole to the Void above yourself. The weapon you'd aimed for fell out into your waiting palms, a lovely ivory recurve bow with a quiver of sharpened bone arrows, the weapon you used for your third and final special attack. This was your preferred weapon next to the sword, as it played to your strengths towards long distance strategy, but you often used your sword because there was a small part of yourself that loved to get up close and reckless with your opponents. 

Today was for training Blur, however, and his choice of using a sword meant that he'd need to get up close to you. Thus, you walked a mediocre distance from the blue-clad skeleton and created a circular obstacle course with your illusion magic behind you, giving an obvious goal for him to reach as you raised yourself upon a platform at the other side of the trapped obstacle course.

"Your warm up is to run twenty laps of this obstacle course. If you can trick the course into thinking you've finished sooner, do it, and the platform I am on will be lowered. If you can get me off the platform another way, do it. Your goal for this training is to get that blade within striking distance without being hit by any of my arrows. Good luck."

That shouldn't be too difficult for the bony ball of energy to handle. Granted, you had no idea what level of proficiency he was at, and you had never actively trained a student one-on-one like this before, but things should work out just fine. It was a learning experience for the both of you!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
>  ^A zanbato. Imagine as bone.
> 
> Yesterday's votes had interesting results. Somehow y'all managed to get a majority vote for the best possible combination of events... I approve »w»


	40. But the Sheer Exuberance was Too Much to Handle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fluff! Training and hotdogs for the win!

In the near distance, a tall skeleton and an adult human stared at the two short beings fighting in the entrance of Waterfall. It was an incredibly unexpected sight to see, what with all other monsters having been wiped out in that CORE accident from the conflicting DT readings of Frisk and Chara. The only beings that should've been left were herself and G... but here were two monsters just playing around with their magic like nothing was wrong.

"G? What do you think we should do?"

The human spoke to their skeletal companion, watching as a volley of bone arrows were fired down from the platform upon the monster that looked like an odd copy of Sans... was that how Papyrus had been twisted in this place? Given the physical appearance of his older brother? If that was the case, who was the other monster?

"let 'em tire themselves out, in case they've been twisted like the environment has been... then find out who they are, i guess."

The human nodded and sat down to watch the two battling monsters, curling her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. Likewise, the skeleton did the same, only pulled out a cigarette to pass the time while doing so.

They had to admit, though, watching these two tiny monsters fight was a better way to spend the time than arguing with each other.

Upon the platform, you moved gracefully as you fired another volley of arrows, and the skeleton monster below blocked the arrows with the wide blade of his sword. Darting through a small tunnel, the blue-clad skeleton wielded his zanbato carefully, and you grinned at the sight of this control. He was learning well, or at least he wasn't forgetting what he'd previously known, and he'd already gotten through nine laps of the course. Once this lap had been run, it was time to increase the difficulty level.

Raising your bow, you fired a final set of three bone arrows, these ones colored a lovely shade of cyan blue... Your target froze in place, allowing the blue arrows to go through him, before crossing the line into the tenth lap. Haha... time for the difficulty level to be raised.

"MWE͏Ḩ!̶ H̢AL͘FWA͏Y͟ DOŅE͟!̕ IS TH͟I̷S͟ ̨THE ͠B͡E͢S҉T ͡YO͝U͡'V͝E ̢ĢOT̵!͢?̴"

His soul turned blue, and he stumbled, not expecting the status effect change but adapting to it quickly. With stars in his eyes, he beheld the strategic mastery of his sensei, and gasped in the entirely exaggerated fashion natural to Papyrus equivalents.

"You're blue now, Blurry dear. That's my attack! The real battle begins now!"

At some point, the two of you had decided to get more and more dramatic as the training went on. What? The enthusiasm was contagious! Nobody would be able to withstand such an atmosphere, not even the laziest of lazy Sans equivalents.

As Blur sprinted through the course with the gravity effect weighing him down, you manifested a mirrored course above the current one, and sent his soul upside down. Naturally, his body followed, and he landed with surprising agility. Not the most graceful of somersaults you've seen, but you _were_ fighting a Royal Guardsman in training... no doubt he had a few tricks up his sleeve.

If only the two observers would watch them openly, then Blur would put even more effort into the battle. No matter, he was doing just fine-

Wait, where'd he go?

You peered up at the ceiling, walking to the edge of the platform to check and see if he'd fallen from the manifested obstacle course. Not seeing him, you flicked a hand downwards, changing his gravity to lower him slowly to the ground again... but he was still out of sight. Where did that skeleton wander off to...?

"MẂE͠H͠ HEH̛ H̨ÈH̵!̨ O̷P҉E͘NI͡NG̵ SPO͘T̵TED AN̸D͞ ͝TAK̶EN!̧ ̀LƠOK͞ B̡E͟H͘ÍN̴D҉ ͜Y͢O̷U, F̧ÀI̸R̶ LAD͞Y, ̡AN͞D҉ ͞B̀EH̀OLD̴ TH̀E͘ M͝AG̀N͏I̸F͘IC͜ENT̕ ͡BLÙR҉ ̷ÍN HI̴S VI͢C̀TÒR͞Y!"

You gasped dramatically and turned, throwing an arm across your hooded forehead as you gazed upon the victorious trainee with his zanbato held in striking distance.

"GASP! I HAVE BEEN DEFEATED BY THE GLORIOUS ROYAL GUARDSMAN THAT STANDS BEFORE ME! ALAS, THE FAIR LADY SWOONS!"

Twirling in a swift circle, you fell backwards towards your companion, and heard the hum of magic as he dismissed his sword to catch you. He'd genuinely bested you... not bad, not bad at all. _Good thing he was on your side._ Hopefully the two observers would be comforted by the dorky display that Blur and yourself had put on.

The platform was lowered, your bow and bone arrows sent back into the Void, and all illusions were dropped. Eventually, you raised yourself back to a standing position, and gave an approving nod to the young Sans equivalent.

"Excellent job, you saw the opportunity for victory and took it. Speed: proficient. Agility: proficient. Environmental awareness: proficient. Next training battle like this, we'll focus on strength and endurance, but well done! Hopefully the two onlookers enjoyed the show."

At the praise, his eyes were stars, and at the revelation that others saw his magnificence, he was practically vibrating with energy. You had to laugh at the mental comparison that came to mind between him and an excited chihuahua... you just had to... but eventually you placed a hand on his shoulder to ground him.

"Easy there, we still need to wait for them to approach us. That was the point of training to pass the time. They'll probably work up the courage to do so soon, so long as we appear non-threatening."

Slowly, the vibrating of your current companion settled down, and he nodded in agreement. Heading behind the counter of the sentry station, you relieved said station of several buns, water sausages, one bottle of ketchup, and one bottle of mustard. Food was always good for recovering quick energy after a battle, what with napping not really being an option in this situation.

As you made the two of you some 'dogs (short for apostrophe-dogs) and a single hotcat, the patience of waiting paid off, and the human and tall skeleton came into view. They approached, and you made a few extra 'dogs for them, before finally settling into a lazy stance with your booted feet upon the counter and your body leaned back in a display of ease.

"Wanna buy a hotdog? They're only twenty-five G."

The looks on their faces were priceless... especially Blur's, he just looked horrified at the prospect.

"AR͜I͏S̵TA,̧ H͝O̢W͘ C҉OULD ̴Y͘OU?́"

You grinned within the darkness of your hood, and waved a hotdog in a slow, tantalizing manner beneath your companion's nosehole, responding in a playful tone of voice as he reluctantly accepted it.

"Well, it isn't exact easy to hold a steady job whilst bouncing through the infinite Multiverse as though it were a large room full of nothing but trampolines. One must make their G where they can."

Turning your attention back to the potential customers, you held up another 'dog in a gloved hand, and tilted your head in a mischievous way. This wasn't a _strict_ violation of the no-interference rule, as long as you didn't alter the important events of the timeline... so you might as well go all-in.

"So then... Frisk, Chara, Gaster-Sans, do any of you wish to buy a hotdog?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A secret character has a secret question for you...  
> Should he abandon the person with him, or bring them along with him?
> 
> This is very, very important for your future »w»  
> Tell why you chose the option you did, but above all...  
> Choose wisely »w»


	41. In the Presence of a Dream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You get nothing of worth done, but meet a new skeleton for your procrastination troubles.

"TḨE MAGN͟IFI҉CE̶NT̷ B̸ĻUR̛ ҉ŢH͡A͏NKS ÝO͡U ͞F͝O͡R Y͏O͢UR E̡N̕COU͠RA̸GEM͏E̢NT̴!͡ ͟ECHO̢TA̛L҉E ͝IS P̧RE̢TTY͝ ̀WEI͟R̶D҉, B͘U͡T̶ ̡BE̶AUT̸I̷F͏UL͏! ͝ÁN͞D ͡WHO I͞S̵ C̕O͝R̸E ̵F̕R͜I̸SK?͘ ARE̵ T̢H̷E̢Y TR͢ÉAT͘I͜N͠G͘ M͟Y ̨B̧RO҉TḨE̷R ͡NIC͜E͘LY? W̵I͝LL I̡ ̸BE ́ABL̸E TO̸ ̛SE̕E ͜HIM̧ A̴G̕AI͞N͢?͝"

You were happy that the voices were being nice to Blur, due to your lack of ability to thrash them if they made him cry, and it must've showed in some manner of body language as you listened to him converse in a quiet volume for a Papyrus equivalent. The two natives stared at you for almost an uncomfortable amount of time as you did so, and when G-Sans looked about ready to fight from frustration, you set down the 'dog, and waved a finger in a playfully chastising manner.

"Now now, you can't initiate battle with a shopkeeper whilst they've got wares to sell... and thanks to the Void, I have infinite wares. To be fair, however, I'll keep myself limited to the items in this sentry station. That's an unknown amount of 'dogs, and a surprise treat ready in case you buy all the 'dogs."

The adult Frisk looked at you oddly, and you continued your impersonation of her best friend.

"Yes, you heard me right. 'Dogs. Short for apostrophe-dogs. Short for apostrophe-apostrophe-dogs. It continues. So, wanna buy?"

You barely managed to restrain your laughter as the bewildered human slid twenty-five G onto the counter. Giving the hotdog to her, you casually Checked to see if her pockets were full, and were pleased to find that the hotdog was the last straw... Please buy another, please buy another-

YES, SHE BOUGHT ANOTHER.

"Whoops, seems like you're carrying too much stuff. Howz'bout I just put it on your head? Here ya go, on the house... Actually, it's on you."

Blur was pretending that he didn't know you. He'd completely turned to face the lava-lit wall behind the sentry station, and was silently eating his hotdogs to replenish his energy. No doubt, he was planning to run as far away as he could once he was finished, so it'd probably be better for his sanity if you hurried things up. Fortunately, the native Sans equivalent seemed about done with your aimless shenanigans, and removed the hotdog from Frisk's head.

"That'll be twenty-five G, please. Possibly-infinite hotdogs don't come cheap."

...just what the hell were you playing at?

"okay, it's pretty obvious you're not from around here. so why are you here?"

You tilted your head, peered over at Blur, returned your gaze to G-Sans, and shrugged.

"Randomly chosen universe and timeline. I don't really control the destinations of where my magic takes me, and it seems Blur here doesn't either... Although, if you see a skeleton with the usual body of a Sans, but with black, red, and yellow bones and a lot of floating, glitched error signs around him, I strongly recommend that you stay away from him. He's a freakin' weirdo, as Papyrus would say, and really won't hesitate to mess up one's day."

Blur finally returned to standing beside you as you tossed some of the unpurchased hotdogs away into the Void, and added his own take on the destructive skeleton as Frisk and G-Sans stared at you.

"Y͏EAH.͝..͟ H̨E ̵S͠HOWED͡ ̴ME͝ T͏HR͜O̧U͞G̀H ̢A ̧WIŅDO̶W͘ ̵H̡O͠W͘ HE ̛DE͠ŚT̴R̨O̶ỲE҉D A U͟NI̸VER̵SE W̡HERE̛ ̡ÀLL͞ TH̛E͡ MON͞STE̛RS W̨E̸R̕E̵ G͘HO̵S̶T̷ MO͘N͝S҉TER̴S.͢ ͟I ́TH͘ÌNK I͢T ͟WA͡S͠ ͞CA͞LL͘ED͡ SP̨E̷CŢR̨ET͏A͞ĹE. O̕H̢, ͢ARI͘ST̷A, ̢ONE ͠O͠F ͢THE͟ ͜VO҉IC̕ES̴ W̨ANT̵S͟ ͢A.͠.̨.͘ ̢H͏OT̕C͟AT͜? ͟Į DU̶NNO. ͟MAY͢BE ͟S̨AC̡RIF̧I͘CING͜ I̧T̵ TO̕ ̛TH͜E VO̧ID͘ ̶WILL LET ͝T͡HE̷M̵ ̸EAT IŢ."

You turned and stared at the short skeleton beside you, shock prevalent in your body language as you thought through the implications of his first comments, and mentally stored the second comments for later contemplation.

" _That's_ what happened to SpectreTale!? Stars, no wonder his LOVE was almost maxed out. It's probably only due to his insanity that it's anything less..."

From what you had observed, the mental health of a being is important to their ability to retain the LOVE gained during certain murderous actions. One who is insane can still obtain LOVE- there are no restrictions on that matter besides the maximum possible LOVE- but the LOVE of a mentally compromised being will slowly drain, as the soul uses it up trying to fix itself. Kills made during a state of insanity obtain less EXP and LOVE than the kills of those aware of the consequences, due to the soul of the insane person being in the harmful state of non-awareness. 

Similarly, beings who have Karmic Innocence- the lowest possible LOVE- don't gain EXP and LOVE as easily as a seasoned murderer. It has been observed that children gain LOVE a lot slower than adults, due to their lack of awareness about what death truly brings, whereas most adults are fully aware of the consequences. The same goes for the human in most universes- death is often seen differently to them than it is to an ordinary being.

Error was an adult, true, but his insanity blinded him to the full implications of his actions... and his soul would be damaged by the mental and emotional scars afflicted by his insanity. In accordance, the damaged soul drains the obtained LOVE in attempt to make its bearer feel correctly again, in attempt to revert to the true innocence of a child and recover what it has lost in the long run...

At least, that was your hypothesis, based upon what you've observed and learned from the various universes you've traveled. There are infinite possibilities to the one actual solution for this specific Error's timeline, and while you were absolutely correct somewhere, the chances of being correct here on your first try was highly unlikely. You would require more information on the universe Error originated from before you could actually develop a probable hypothesis.

"uh, excuse me... why do you think he'll be coming here? and how can we be sure that you're not lying?"

Questions from the native skeleton interrupted your thoughts, and you brought your feet down to rest on the ground properly.

"Well, he had Blur here trapped in the Anti-Void, so it stands to reason that he'd come looking for his escaped prisoner. Also, what reason do we have to lie? You're on a journey to RESET this world to its former glory, so you'll simply forget about this conversation within ten timelines or so. Lying serves no purpose when time is of the essence."

You stood up, looking over to your current companion. He appeared more or less unaffected by the accusation in the tone of G-Sans, but just to be safe, you wanted to square away credibility issues.

"This universe is called Echotale, named by someone currently unknown to me. If I really wanted to, I could search through my records in the Void for the name of the creator, but it would give me a headache equivalent to that of someone trying to remember someone who has been erased from existence... Centuries of existence spent upon the brink of reality provides some very, very interesting data. Either way, some of my records go missing from time to time, and I find that rather annoying. I blame Gaster entirely, what with him being the only one who knows where I keep my stuff..."

You caught the looks on the faces of the two natives to this universe, and rolled your eyelights within your hood. In a quick series of movements, you slid the hotdogs made into a hole to the Void and returned your hooded shawl back to its full cloak form, thus dismissing the two natives from your attention. That completed, you offered your hand to your companion, speaking to him next.

"Anyways, we should probably leave before Error catches our trail, _just in case_ he's wanting to do a violence. The Void should be safe, even with the couple universes that originate there, due to the fact that a version of Error exists peacefully within one. Ready for your magic lesson, Blur dear?"

Blur accepted your hand with a wide grin and excitement, preparing to leave behind the previous topic in favor of a much preferable one... but another being's hand on your shoulder halted that train of thought. The low chuckle that came from behind you was- at this point- almost expected.

Yeah, you'd been through just that much shit in the Multiverse. Murphy's Law was enforced far more often than you'd like it to be.

"...Speak of the devil, and he shall appear. To what do I owe you the pleasure, dear Error?"

As you turned, your expectations were blown away... the being who stood before you was, actually, _not_ Error. In fact, they were a bright and sunny looking Sans with a thin golden circlet upon their skull, and golden boots, fingerless gloves, cape, and belt over their sky blue pants and light cyan tunic with white lining. The cape had the sun engraved upon the brooch keeping it in place, and the belt had the letters DS engraved in it. Along with the sunny appearance came sunny yellow eyelights shaped like stars, and you were barely able to restrain yourself from facepalming at the sheer glowing optimism this skeleton radiated...

Ahem.

"Well hello there, you're not Error. Who might you be?"

The newcomer smiled a bright smile, as though you'd just said the sweetest thing in the known Multiverse, and you barely held your ground in the face of it.

"I'm Dream Sans, but you can call me Dream~!"

This was worse than SugarTale. You could feel the hardened parts of your soul softening like warm chocolate chip cookies fresh out of the oven, and opening you up to positive communication. A horrifying thought came to mind, and you checked on your companion- alas, he had fallen to the optimism as well, evidently much harder than you yourself had. The stars in his eyesockets were _spinning_ as he whispered to himself... 

"PS̡ST̀,̀ ͡MYST͝ȨRI̢O̵U͏S V̛O̶IC̀E̕S, ͡ĮS̕ TH̸IS̵ ṔE͟RS̴ǪN ͏AS FRI͡EN̨D̴L̵Y A͏S T҉H̷EY̵ ͘L̡O̸OK?̷"

...it was too late. Now you had to converse with this absolutely pleasant Sans for an unknown amount of time.

A very small part of yourself wondered if Dream had ever been ditched like Jerry before. If not, an even smaller part was willing to make that a reality, for the sheer sake of science. 

_For shame, you, for shame._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all are awesome, y'know that? Here's a surprise for you:  
> The last vote had zero harmful repercussions whatsoever. Ya did Note a good =D
> 
> Here's another vote that might be peaceful or maybe might bring back the catastrophic consequences~  
> To see or not to see?


	42. There Was Assistance Required

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This double update brought to you by Amythefangirlsfangirl55, and the massive ego boost she has given this author!  
> ~~~  
> Echotale is left behind, and you receive mysterious gifts from Dream and Nightmare!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout-out to all of you lovely readers and aspiring authors out there, and all who've commented and contributed to this story!
> 
> Amythefangirlsfangirl55 has made a fanfic for this story! Feel free to check it out on Wattpad- [Arista's Multiverse Adventurers](https://www.wattpad.com/story/103387461-arista%27s-multiverse-adventurers)\- and give Amy a comment or two =)

The two natives of this universe were forgotten, as Dream took the hands of Blur and yourself and charged up his magic. By the time you began to realize that you were showing an irrational amount of trust to this creature, Echotale was left behind, and the three of you were abruptly standing upon the grassy hilltop of another universe. Beside you, there was a large tree with black and gold fruits upon it, and a yellow banner of the sun around its trunk.

Strange... Perhaps it was simply the fact that you could sense no ill-will towards Blur or yourself, but this alternate Sans didn't strike you as suspicious, despite his lack of a soul. The instincts you'd developed from living upon the edge of reality told you that Dream had been created for a positive purpose, and those instincts generally didn't guide you the wrong way. However... when another skeleton in darker formal clothing like Dream's appeared, those instincts gave you conflicted signals.

The belt of this newcomer possessed the engraving of NM, and given the opposite theme to Dream Sans, you had the idea that this meant his name was Nightmare. Your instincts told you that he was created for a positive purpose, but to act for a negative purpose... Protection of something in horrible ways, perhaps? This Sans also had no soul...

"Hello. Am I correct in assuming that your name is Nightmare?"

The dark-themed skeleton blinked in surprise- well, not quite surprise, but something similar- and nodded, before gesturing for you to follow him as he walked to the other side of the tree. With a glance towards Dream, who nodded with a bright smile, you informed Blur that you'd be back in a few minutes, and set off after Nightmare.

As you walked, you took in the appearance of the odd skeleton. He wore a tunic similar to his brother's- they could only be brothers, despite both being Sanses in body- yet it had longer sleeves and was dark purple instead of cyan. It was closed by a gold belt with the letters "NM" engraved upon it, and atop his head was a thick golden circlet with a cresent moon on it. His pants were black, and his boots were dark purple, finalizing the dark color scheme. 

The aura of negativity around him made you wary of his intentions... but to your casual surprise, he didn't really say or do much, leaving the sounds of Dream and Blur chattering away to fill the air. You came to the abrupt realization that you and him had something in common, something that the innocent beings on the other side of the hill didn't possess, and that he had recognized that thing in common first...

"...So, you know now."

He spoke, his voice low and smooth and smug, and you frowned to yourself. As you remained silent, he followed suit, and merely moved without making a sound. A dark purple fruit, almost black in color, was plucked from the tree and given away freely... you could feel the aura of despair coming from this food item.

"...Use this when there is no hope left."

With that, he fell silent, and simply watched in some curiosity to see what you would do. Most people would get rid of the cursed fruit as soon as possible, and some naive beings would consume it immediately, but you did neither. Instead, you polished the shiny surface of the fruit, and tucked it away carefully within your cloak and out of sight... how very interesting.

"Thank you."

You gave Nightmare that odd combination of a curtsey and a bow, and sauntered off to the other side of the tree, leaving the negative Sans to ponder quietly through the first genuine display of gratitude he'd received from someone other than his brother. His face was closed off as you left, and soon fell out of sight as you returned to Dream and your current companion.

"A̛H́! AR͡I̵S̛T̛A,͢ ͠DR͠EA̶M̷ ̢HAS̛ A CO̷UPL̢E ͏T̡H҉I͢N̶G̷S̷ FOR US̛ TO͏ W̶AT̵CH O͞VE͏R!"

Blur turned to you with an expression of excitement, a direct contrast to the sudden return of the wariness you'd felt next to Nightmare. Things to watch over sounded like obligations that would keep you from finding your home timeline... and Note.

Note was _not_ dead. He wasn't.

"Oh? What sort of things?"

You kept an air of mild curiosity over your body language, but were perhaps a little bit sharp in your tone of voice, as Dream seemed to deflate a little before bouncing back almost instantly. His eyelights were shaped as the usual Sans pinpricks now, no longer stars, but were still glowing yellow with his natural optimism... you found yourself open to communication again.

"Nothing that'll keep you in place, Arista! Just watch over these until you find Ink again, he'll know what to do!"

The cheerful Sans held out a glowing four-pronged star, one which reminded you of the human's so-called Save Points, and of your own eyelights when excited... It was yellow in color, and seemed rather dim, however, and was very hard to the touch. Around the center was a thick criss-cross of blue strings wrapped around it that looked startlingly like Error's strings, and although they hummed with magic, they actually hummed with the magic originating from the star. That was only the first item, however.

Upon seeing your acceptance of the hardened star, Dream was apparently encouraged, and handed you an oddly fluid pouch that the star would be able to fit in. By oddly fluid, you meant that it felt almost like silk on the outside- the black belt it was anchored on was definitely silky- and almost like the inside of it was filled with a thick liquid of some sort. Curious, you looked up at the hopeful-looking Sans, and tilted your head to wordlessly indicate that he should explain.

"Oh! Just keep the star sealed in the pouch until you meet Ink again. Don't worry, he'll find you as long as you're not in the Void, and you call his name!"

You blinked. Apparently while you knew a lot about most beings in the Multiverse, there were others who knew just as much about you... The thought was slightly off-putting, although these Sanses were apparently nice Multiversal beings, so somehow you didn't mind it that much. Maybe that's why you agreed to Dream's request.

"Alright, Dream. I'll keep an eyesocket out for him."

The star began to violently fluctuate in brightness in your gloved hands, and Dream eyed it with uncharacteristic concern. Someone so happy-go-lucky wouldn't look this serious over something little...

"That needs to get back into the pouch soon... Um, it reacts badly when it's out for too long. Not that it's dangerous or anything! It just needs that environment!"

...somehow, you got the feeling that Dream had never realized that he was a horrible liar. However, for the sake of temporary peace, you placed the star within the oddly fluid pouch, and fastened the belt of the pouch around the bottom of the corset of your dress. When that was done and your hands were removed, it was hidden safely within the security of your cloak, no indication that it was there. Hopefully that would placate Dream for long enough that he would stop paying attention to you and Blur on the Multiversal level... then you could figure out what was so odd about the objects entrusted to you.

"Well, anyways Dream, we must be going now. Blur, are you ready?"

Having been looking at the tree and giving no mind to the conversation going on a few meters away, it took a few moments to obtain Blur's attention. When you succeeded in doing so, he smiled and took your arm, holding on tight when you opened a shortcut to the Void. He seemed distracted, however, and you caught a concerning murmur before sound was lost to the nothingness...

"VOIC̵E̕S? DO ̴Y̧OU ̷RE̶A͏LLY͝ ̴TH͢INK̢ I̢ ͘S͠H̨OUL҉D?̸"

Should what?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In recognition of this being the 42nd chapter, I must give you a careful end-note reminder in large, friendly letters...  
>  ** _DON'T PANIC._**
> 
> Thank you all for being fabulous readers, and enjoy the fluff coming soon =D


	43. But a Conclusion of Sorts was Reached

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blur decides that he should ask you a question. The answer is more complicated than it should be.

Within the eternal nothingness of your home dimension, you waved in greeting to the other occupant, and proceeded to guide Blur through the nothingness towards your living area. On the way, he was looking around in curious silence, perhaps trying to find something to focus on. In the end, however, he turned his gaze towards you, and finally spoke.

Speaking in the Void was a matter of using your soul as well as your voice. Alone, without any intent behind your words, they cannot be heard due to the general lack of atoms to pass along the vibrations of sound. Similarly, this was why most beings passing through this place felt as though they were suffocating- the absence of time made it feel as though one were eternally suffocating, should they be trapped here. You counted yourself blessed to be one of the skeleton types that didn't require air to survive. Not breathing was just as comfortable as breathing, to you.

Anyways, it was a good thing that most people spoke with the intent of being heard. Note had done so effortlessly while here, although wandering alone for much longer would've likely made him believe that there was nobody to hear him, and that would've made him silent to all others here. It seemed that Blur had no problem doing the same- speaking with the intent to be heard- as you were able to hear him perfectly.

"ARISTA,́ BÉF̸OR͜É ͏YO҉U̕ TE͟ACH M͢É A͢BO̵U҉T͡ ͜SH͞O̧RT͢C͏U̕T͜S̢, CAN ͏I AS͏K ͟YOU A͏ QUE̸S̨TION?"

He sounded hesitant... almost nervous. You'd say this was unusual, but you had seen this occur many times before in other timelines, usually with Papyrus equivalents about to ask something they genuinely weren't certain to think about. So, naturally, you made a joke of it.

"You just did."

The look shot your way was half amusement and half frustration, and you laughed a little before waving him off.

"You certainly may, Blurry dear. What is it you wish to inquire?"

A huff was the only sign of further hesitance from your current companion before he continued.

"H͝O͠W ͢L̴O͠NG ͘H͢AVE̢ ̛Y͠O҉U BE͏E͏N A̶LONE, A͡N̢D ͢WHY͠ ̵W̵O͞UL͠D̵ YǪU̧ ST̛AY T͡HAT̢ ̕W̡A͏Y̸ W̧H͏EN ̵YO̢U̕ CAN̛ ̶TRAVEL̸ ̶T͏HE͠ ͡MULTI͢V̀ERS̴E͜?"

He looked up into the darkness of your hood, an oddly intense stare condensing his eyelights to tiny pinpricks of sky blue light.

"E̵ŖR̨O͞R̕ ŢO͠LD̵ ͞M͟E ͏T̕H͘A̶T TH́E͝RE̡ W̴E͞RE ̴CO̡UNTLE̶S̶S̵ ͡U͏NI̴VER̛SES̢ O̡UT́ ŢHER͡Ȩ,҉ AND̸ ̵T̷H͜AŢ HE ͏WA̧NT͢S TO̶ ͢D́E҉S̴T͟RO͢Y͢ ̡T̨HEM̨ ALL,̧ BUT͢ THE͢RE̴ ̛M̨U̕ST͞ B̡E ̧O͡T͠H̵ERS ̧O͢ÙT̨ ́THE͜RE̡ ̷P̨ROT͜E͘CT͠I̸N̨G THƠSE ͝UNIVÉRS̨ES.͘ SU͢R͏ÉL͟Y ͏Y̶O̕U҉ M̵U͘ŞT ͜HAV̕E ME͝T SO͞ME̡ ͘OF͢ TH̴EM̸,̢ ͠WHY̵ ̧D́I͟D̴Ń'̨T̡ ͢Y͘OU STAY ͝WITH̷ ̀THE҉M?̵"

Hmm... serious questions like these required serious refreshments to go with them.

Not yet responding to the questions asked, you led Blur into the relaxation area of your home and seated him on one of the couches available. With that done, refreshments were acquired from the kitchen area- hot chocolate pulled from the hot fridge you'd taken from a random version of Undyne's house, nice cream pulled from the ordinary fridge you'd acquired from the Surface of a random universe- and brought over to the couch where the Blueberry sat patiently.

Taking a sip of the hot chocolate, you took a can of whipped cream from your phone's dimensional box and mixed a bit into the hot chocolate, before finally responding.

"Well, I'm not your ordinary Multiverse traveler. I have a home timeline out there waiting for me to return, and there used to be other versions of me in other universes and timelines as well, until they were... erased. Unlike you, I am the only me in existence at this time, and I suspect it's only because of the final experiment I'd undergone... Let me start this off by telling you why I had been the subject of this experiment, instead of my Sans and Papyrus."

* * *

_You had to help them. This next experiment was going to kill your brothers, no matter how careful the scientist was- he was too far gone to think rationally. They were depending on you now, their big sister, to get them to safety from the threat they didn't yet know existed._

_"Sans, Papyrus, wake up! We need to go, we need to to now!"_

_You manifested the illusion of the scientist's holed hand, using the part of the magic signature he'd passed down to you to trick the scanner into unlocking the energy barrier. Rushing inside, you stood beside the cot of two stirring skeletons and tried to wake them up faster, hurriedly thinking through the plans for their escape._

_Yes, you'd planned this event, had been doing so for a while, but you hadn't had any idea that you'd need to do it so soon. This action tonight was rushed, there were flaws to be found left and right, if you screwed up even one thing it would all be over. It would all be over, they would be back to subjects and you would be permanently separated from them or worse, and you would never be able to help them again._

_The title of being Gaster's daughter was just that- a title. The scientist would be able to drop it- not immediately, but slowly, erasing you from the public eye through a fake Falling Down or something- and you'd never be able to help them or yourself again. This was why you couldn't screw up, why you'd been carefully planning this for so long, yet it was entirely possible that all this careful planning had gone to waste. The only goals you had of the plan was to get Sans and Papyrus to Grillby- he was well enough known that Gaster couldn't touch him- and return to destroy the data the scientist had obtained so he could never do this to another child again._

_"Come on babybones, stay quiet, I'm finally getting you two out of here. We're going to a place called Grillby's, but it's very far away in Snowdin, so we're gonna have to be careful... here, put these clothes on."_

_You helped the two sleepy-yet-alert skeletons get dressed, glancing down the hallways every so often to make sure that nobody was coming before finally grasping them by the hands and leading them at a brisk pace through the dimly lit facility. The two would need the outside clothes to fit in, and while the striped sweaters and jacket and scarf were a bit too big for them, they'd simply have to do._

_"Stay quiet, very quiet... we need to walk most of the way, so don't waste your energy talking. This is serious, and I know you have a lot of questions, but I can't answer them right now. Not until we're at Grillby's."_

_Sensing the solemn atmosphere or simply being too tired to ask questions, either way, the two babybones listened to you and kept up as the three of you escaped the laboratory. A Royal Guardsman nearby noticed your lab coat and waved with a cheerful greeting, mentioning that he hadn't known anyone was still working, and oh were those two children your siblings? Wow! He'd never seen them before!_

_"I know, right!? They're such curious cuties I just couldn't resist their pleading faces when they asked to see where I worked! Maybe someday they'll follow in my footsteps! Oh, and please don't tell the doc that you saw them so late, he only allowed them to visit the labs during the day shift when more people were around and we kinda lost track of time!"_

_You were too nervous. Fortunately you knew that he was a newbie, and made pleasantries before leaving, feigning a casual pace unbefitting of such an urgent circumstance. The casual pace only lasted until you were out of the guard's sight, and as you walked, you explained to the two brothers that water and snow disrupted the signals coming from the handplates that they and yourself wore._

_"Waterfall scatters the signal best due to its wet environment and expansive tunnel system, so if you get separated or feel in danger of being taken by Gaster again, hide in this area and stay quiet. Those exercises he did to show you that he will always find you? False, in this location. The best place to hide for long periods of time would be the dump, so long as we remain vigilant, but don't worry about that just yet. Grillby is our best bet, even if father knows where we are there. We need the help of others- alone we cannot stand against him, but if we go to people who are more respected and well known than him, we'll be safe."_

_Nowadays you kept most of your thoughts to yourself, but back then, you were quite the rambler when you got nervous. It grounded you, hearing your own voice, and you liked to think that it helped keep your brothers calm all the way to Grillby's. It was also, unfortunately, the last time they ever heard or saw you again..._

_"Alright babybones, stay here with Grillby. He'll protect you, and the townspeople here aren't as reverent of Gaster as everyone else. This is the safest place for us. I'll be back in a few hours, so be good you two!"_

_The farewells of "BYE SISTER," and "cya arista," were their last words spoken to you within the timeline, and entirely ignorant to this fact, you returned to the lab to begin destroying the data..._

_..._

_He caught you as you had just collected all the relevant journals upon the two babybones and yourself, an almost feral expression of amusement upon his face._

_**"Ah, Arista! Thank you for collecting those, I was just about to set down a memo for you to do so in the morning, but here you are ahead of the game like usual! Just what I expect from my most successful experiment..."** _

_He beckoned you to follow him down the halls, and with no other choice but to pretend until he left you alone, you were forced to follow him. Down the endless corridors you walked, carrying the records of the experiments performed upon the brothers and yourself, a tense little grin upon your stitched skull. He wasn't acting any differently than normal, you shouldn't be so nervous! Just relax, and everything would be fine._

_**"Yes, place them on the table and come over here. I wanted to give you a general checkup on your magic anyways, no time like the present! Sit upon the table, if you will."** _

_It was just sitting down. He didn't restrain you during general checkups, and it wasn't unusual for him to do various activities at odd times. If you kept looking so tense, he was going to figure it out! Stop wearing your emotions on the outer layer of your soul, stars!_

_**"Adequate readings, optimally balanced levels. Yes, I believe that you are in perfect condition for this next experiment... despite your little jaunt through the Underground with my two prized subjects."** _

_His magic slammed you back into the table before you could react, and the magic-suppressant restraints were activated. Stars, he knew all along, he knew, he knew, he knew! This next experiment... what was he going to do!?_

_**"Clever thinking, by the way, taking them to the ex-General. I would expect no less from my protege... It is a shame you chose to throw away the good life you had ahead of you in favor of saving two little creatures worth less than yourself."** _

_The only part of your body free to move was your mouth, and boy, did you move it._

_"I refuse to follow you down the road of heartless actions and compromised morals. You created them just like you created me, and if I am your child, then they're your children too... And I refuse to stand by and allow my siblings to be treated in such horrible ways, when I have the power to change it!"_

_A large piece of equipment was pulled over to your restrained form, positioned directly over your sternum and subsequently your soul. You alternated between glaring at it, glaring at the scientist, and trying to tug free of the suppression restraints, but to no avail. No matter. Whatever he was doing, you'd stay true, and protect your brothers._

_**"Entry Number #####. Due to unforseen circumstances, it is Subject Zero undergoing the experiment I have dubbed to be ### #### #######, and not Subject One. The size difference between the two is negligible enough to be ignored, and the magic type similarities fall under that same assessment. Fortunately, I am not opposed to this subject change... after all, it is better to test with the prototype, and fix the problems in the final product. Commencing #########..."** _

* * *

"...and that, dear Blur, is how I ended up in the Void for the first time. Since then, I have learned libraries' worth of knowledge and seen centuries' worth of events lost to time, and have been unable to locate my home timeline ever since."

You took another sip of your hot chocolate, finishing off the mug. Setting it down neatly on the table, you returned your attention to the half-eaten nice cream cone in your other hand, taking a few bites before finally turning your attention to your current companion.

Blur looked like he was about to cry. Good job, you. Good job. Even the glowing star in the pouch seemed to flicker unhappily.

"My apologies for upsetting you. It is a reality I have had a long time to accept. My method of travel is entirely random, and the chances of stumbling into my home timeline are incredibly unlikely due to this. I had actually just found someone who could've helped me do so, but then Error and Fresh appeared and brought me to the Anti-Void... There I met you, and from that point on, you know the rest."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about that last confusing vote, I'mma try to be a bit better with that xD  
> That doesn't mean the cryptic votes are going anywhere less cryptic tho ;3
> 
> So, here's a couple more votes:  
> FIGHT or FLEE?  
> A, B, C, or D?


	44. In an Unexpected Turn (Who Are We Kidding, This Was Totally Expected)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The teaching of shortcuts begins, and Blur lives up to his title.

"Focus, Blurry dear. You must coil the condensed energy as tightly as possible, this isn't that."

There was currently a sphere of magic about the size of a marble hovering before Blur's nosehole, humming and glowing a lovely off-white from how tightly packed it was. His circular, blue eyelights were pinpricks with how hard he was focusing on the energy before him, and as you watched, the sphere shrunk to the smallest size you'd seen it yet.

He was progressing nicely.

"Excellent! Now, test how thick and viscous the magic is with your senses, and commit that feeling to memory. It is more dense than a summoned bone by far, so densely compressed that a steel girder surrounded by that pressure would crumple in on itself and as though it were a tin can... If you focus hard enough, you can feel the very atoms in the air around it. The Void has few such atoms, and that makes it more difficult to sense them, but you need to be able to do this here if you're to do it anywhere else."

Your student nodded firmly, his eyelights not leaving the speck of white light that the energy had been coiled into. A surge of pride coursed behind your sternum, and you smirked silently, giving yourself a mental pat on the back for being such an excellent teacher.

"Do you feel the atoms around the sphere? This right here is the basis of how your Doctor Undyne created the Cellphone Dimensional Boxes. The atoms of an outside item are magically compressed into a tiny pocket-dimension space not much different in size than that sphere, located within the cellphone itself and accessed by the soul energy of the one using it. This is why, when using the Dimensional Box on another person's phone, you can still access your own Dimensional Box if you so wish. Otherwise, you access the Box of the person whose soul signature was previously impressed upon it."

Blur nodded again, his silence and the bead of sweat upon his skull betraying the effort he was putting into keeping the energy compressed to tightly for so long. How long had it been? The Void was timeless, it felt like he'd been holding this forever... yet it felt like he could continue holding it for a forever longer. This could possibly be used as a strange form of torture, but he could do it!

Magic didn't truly deplete in the Void, as long as you had a good enough grip upon it, and you didn't use it on anything permanent. For example, one could summon a bone attack in their hand, and instead of letting it remain in use or dissipate, it could be re-absorbed into their magic stores. Similarly, one could store magic within a conductor of some sort, and the magic energy would never drift away elsewhere unless deliberately drawn out as such. 

You'd discovered this while attempting to get your TV to work, by drawing the energy through the outlet cord of the modified generator and into the circuitry of the flatscreen itself. The piece of technology had remained on for as long as the energy stored within the generator was in contact with the inner components of the flatscreen, no matter how it was used. When it was turned off, you checked on the magic stores within the generator, and discovered that none of the energy had truly been lost. Technology acted oddly in this place without time, for certain, but it had granted you a deeper understanding of energy and magic as a whole.

This was why you preferred to do magic training in the Void. As long as you kept the magic connected to yourself or something else concrete within it, your magic usage was only limited by the full amount of magic you had stored upon your entry. Incredible feats could be performed here, but there was truly no way to apply the magic within the Void to an actual universe, thus it was only found useful for modifying items and training your skills.

"Now then, dear Blur, note that the sphere of energy is solid. There is nothing at all within its confines but itself. What I want you to do now, is pull the innermost layer of energy towards the outermost layer of energy, and drag along all the layers in between until you have a noticeable space of nothingness within the center of the sphere."

Another bead of sweat formed upon his skull as your current companion pushed and pulled on the energy in the way you had asked. You watched him closely, closely observing his rough technique and the immense struggles he was having... but he did it. The job was slightly unstable, but your magic would also be unstable after being held firm this much time, even in the Void.

You couldn't help the excited squeal that escaped your bone lips.

"Absolutely magnificent! You're living up to your title, my dear Blur, living up to it quite well! Now, the only thing preventing you from creating a shortcut right this second is the layers of the energy sphere itself. Condensing energy this tightly provides the equivalent potential energy of an atom bomb about to explode, and while normally it would explode, punching through the layers into the nothingness within causes a vacuum effect that pulls all the energy and matter directly connected to the sphere within! Although this method is highly disorienting and has made first-time beings of various species experience nausea, headaches, lightheadedness, and loss of consciousness, it is the single most efficient way of taking a shortcut."

Blur stared at the tiny sphere of highly condensed energy, startled by the potential explosive repercussions of performing a shortcut incorrectly, and more than a little nervous about messing up now. The cheerful way you spoke of the potential disasters and side effects made him question your sanity just the slightest bit, but then he remembered that his brother used shortcuts all the time...

Now he was even more concerned.

"Don't worry about that happening here, Blur. It's only once you get around high concentrations of matter in motion that the sphere has the potential to explode. That's why I'm teaching you here! The energy would simply scatter out harmlessly in this timeless place, and because this place is timeless, no atomic reactions would occur. Nothing happens here unless you make it happen. In a universe, the nothingness inside the condensed sphere is what prevents the explosion, so you must act quickly while out there. Severing your connection to the sphere in a universe would also result in an explosion, destroying yourself and stars-know-how-many-others in the process."

That... He wasn't reassured at all, and his stress level was now rather high, but he focused on the sphere because he needed to form it faster if he was going to use shortcuts in other universes. This needed to be learned perfectly here, where he had no true repercussions should he fail, so he could perform perfectly out there. It was like preparing to capture a human! He could practice and recalibrate his methods all he wanted now, but he couldn't let the energy slip through his grasp during the real deal!

Blur was DETERMINED to get this right as quickly as possible. There was nothing that could stop his conviction to do so now, nothing that could stand in his way to success! THE MAGNIFICENT SANS WOULD BE VICTORIOUS IN EVERY ONE OF HIS ENDEAVORS!

The sudden surge of determination from Blur's soul had you raising a bone brow and taking a few steps back, to give him both space and freedom from distraction to focus upon his energy sphere. It seemed that he was stretching the sphere out into an incredibly thin rectangular shape the size of his body, like a doorway- the typical shape that Sans equivalents used while teleporting. How very interesting, to find out that this shape was ingrained in most Sanses from their first shortcut. It made you curious as to what event made them inclined as such, while other Sanses created shortcuts in other shapes.

Upon detailed inspection, you found that he was keeping the density of the energy at just the right level, and were impressed. The sheer strength of the instinct behind this was astounding, and while you had studied it in length before- first through the windows created by Gaster, and later on yourself- it was fascinating to observe in person. If your calculations were correct, he was close to the point of going through the shortcut in the manner that Sanses usually did!

"Focus on a destination you have seen before as you pull through the two layers of energy! You must break both layers while thinking of a specific destination you have seen in this dimension! If you only break one layer, you'll end up in a random universe. If you think of someplace you haven't seen, you'll only end up on the other side of the doorway. I believe in you!"

You watched with wide eyesockets as Blur threw himself through the rectangular shaped energy, pulling himself through both layers and vanishing to his destination, the energy itself being pulled along due to still being connected to him. It then vanished from sight, the energy leaving your magical senses, leaving behind no trace of any disturbance whatsoever. A startled laugh came from behind you, and you turned to see the short skeleton stepping through the shortcut with the energy being drawn along behind him, smacking into his body and being re-absorbed into his magic stores. There wasn't even any time to become concerned before it was over.

"OH͡ M̡Y ̛S͝T͟A̶RS!!!̸ ̴AR͠IS̨TA͟!҉!̛!͝ ̕D͝ÍD͢ ̵Y̧OÙ ͘S̶E͡E ̴T̡H̢AT̵!?̸!̢ ͞B͡Y͜ T͠H̛E͞ ͟B̸ARR҉I̢ER,͘ DI͠D̶ ͠Y̢OU ͘S͘EE͘ WH̸AT͝ ̀I D͞I̢D!?͟!"

Abruptly finding yourself in a tight hug, you stiffened reflexively from the unexpected physical contact... but, it wasn't a bad thing. Being swung around by a genuinely excited Papyrus equivalent was one of the better experiences to have in the Multiverse, you had to admit, and it brought a smile of amusement and- could it be?- perhaps even happiness to your skull...

The ecstatic screams of your companion echoing through the endless expanse that was the Void filled you with pride.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, it's time for a fun situation!~
> 
> You've stepped into a universe that you've never seen before. The monsters here are more powerful than you could've imagined, and you just got kidnapped by two of them. At least one of them is always watching you, either out of pity, curiosity, or suspicion. Without the ability to take shortcuts- because that'd risk them leaving their universe- and without the ability to teleport- because you've never been anywhere in this universe- how do you escape?


	45. A Few Technical Difficulties Arose

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Uh oh... fighting, start?

**"Oh my, he's still at it. Do you think he will ever stop?"**

Gaster had been quickly attracted by the waves of excitement exuding from your companion in his shortcut success, and had decided to hover nearby from that point on. Together, he and you observed as Blur took shortcuts from one end of your home to the other and everywhere possible in between, smiles of reminiscence and amusement upon your respective skulls. In order to prevent distraction, you had chosen to respond to Gaster in his usual sign language, allowing Blur the freedom to continue practicing his new ability in as many ways as he could think of.

**"Eventually he will realize what this means for finding his brother. No doubt you observed what he'd said to those voices of his, about his brother being with someone named Core!Frisk. I've never encountered them myself, but do you know who Core!Frisk is?"**

The doctor tilted his cracked skull down towards you slightly, his smile widening as he remained silent. He had an expression of sheer mischief and smug glee upon his skull, an expression that only showed up when he was feeling particularly humorous and tricky... You stared him down impatiently from the darkness of your hood, and despite knowing that he was unaffected by the intimidating aspect darkness, didn't remove said hood due to Blur's presence.

Blur still hadn't seen your bony features yet.

**"Alright Gaster, don't tell me. I assume that they asked you to remain silent on the matter, and you decided to have fun with it. That, or you're just emulating a metaphorical rear orifice for shits and giggles. Either way, I don't mind because it doesn't affect Blur's chances of successfully finding his brother. Those chances are still quite small, even with his new ability- perhaps even smaller than the chances of me returning to my home timeline."**

As you watched your current companion develop his own style to the shortcuts, the pride still present within your chest, you failed to notice the sudden expression of guilt upon Gaster's skull... By the time you looked, it was already gone, replaced with an expression of neutral amusement as he finally responded.

**"Oh, not at all, dear child. Indeed I know of Core!Frisk and have encountered them before, but they have given me no such restrictions. They are somewhat of an omnipresent being, viewing everything within all timelines and universes, and have even appeared within the Void a few times before I encountered you. They are anchored here due to their journey to the bottom of the CORE that so mirrored my own... to think that a Classic Sans was capable of doing such a thing."**

You nodded, sidestepping a couch that was violently displaced by a failed shortcut from Blur, and used your magic to return the couch to its proper place as you continued the signed conversation with Gaster.

**"It makes a certain sense as to why they haven't appeared before me, then. Frisks are generally peaceful, and I have killed before. They would have seen that, if they were omnipresent, and whatever purpose they have given themself likely has a bigger scope than trying to save a single murderer."**

The signs were formed matter-of-factly, as you had accepted your LOVE some time ago, and were used to such consequences of possessing it. Said LOVE wasn't going to disappear simply because you acted peaceful at all other times, and there was no RESET ability that could change it- the one you had killed was in possession of a LOVE of their own that transcended the power of the RESETs. It only made sense that RESET transcendence covered your LOVE as well, what with it being acquired in the universe where said transcendence was possible. That was how you'd acquired your dance style in Dancetale, after all, and a few other traits as well.

**"I sincerely doubt that Core!Frisk is the type of person to leave someone be just because of that. They tried to save Error, and are still trying to do so. You've met him, Arista. Perhaps you are needed to do something before they meet you, or perhaps you wouldn't consider their offer at this time. They are a good person, for certain, and wouldn't spite you for what you've been through at my hands or any others."**

The conversation drifted off into a comfortable conclusion as you nodded, reluctantly accepting what the fellow Void-dweller said. He knew more than you did, after all, what with his honed abilities to view countless timelines and universes and retain that information. Being linked to the Void itself through his scattered soul gave him a greater mental capacity, especially when brought alongside your own- it was the sun compared to the moon.

As it seemed that Blur was finally becoming satisfied with his shortcut practice, you decided to show him something that only Gaster and yourself could do within this place. As though sensing your intentions, the scientist departed for another corner of the Void, leaving you alone with the short skeleton. Brushing off your cloak, your hand skimmed over the pouch belted within, and something inspired you to remove the four-pointed star from within as you approached your current companion. You were careful to avoid touching the quietly humming magic strings attached to its center.

"Blurry dear, is there anything you wish to see within any of the universes, now that you know how to use shortcuts?"

The skeleton turned to face you, a familiar expression of odd exhaustion and energy upon his skull. It was the result of practicing magic so extensively within the Void- while technically one never lost physical energy, they lost mental and emotional energy from the prolonged concentration. This was why sleep was still necessary in this timeless place.

"U̸M.͜.. ̢C͜A͢N͝.͘..̨ CĄN͏ ͞I ͏S͘E͏E͠ ͡M͡Y BROTHER?"

Ah, you could relate to those feels.

"Quite possibly. The method for making viewing windows is a similar process to creating shortcuts. In fact, it is nearly identical all the way up to forming a doorway, and the only true difference is that the layers remain unbroken. Instead of being broken, they are enhanced by the unique illusion magic that my father and I possess."

You refrained from mentioning Gaster by name, as it seemed Blur couldn't see him there. This seemed to be a theme with most visiting beings- demonstrated by various Sans equivalents passing through as well as your companions- as only creatures residing within the Void itself really showed any sort of acknowledgement to Gaster's presence while within it. 

The Void Children were some such beings- the remnants of broken timelines; more accurately, the manifested residual thoughts and memories and emotions of those timelines given physical and magical form- who actually reminded you somewhat of the Fae from the human folklore of Europe. They were happy and playful, and were sometimes quite dangerous to those who didn't know how to handle them... the lonely, lowercase love-seeking creatures were entirely ignorant of the dangers they posed to others, with their relatively primitive intelligence.

"OH!̧ S̶H̸O͞U͘LD̛ I ̀MAK̶E A DO̡OR̸WAY T͡HE͡N͡?"

He caught on quickly, and when you nodded in affirmation, he proceeded to create the beginning of a shortcut. You observed this, noting that his speed had improved exponentially with all of the practice he had earlier, and momentarily thought about how he would do just fine on his own in the Multiverse...

Ahem.

"Good. Your speed is approaching the measure it must be in places affected by time. Now, in order to show you your brother, you must think back to the last encounter you had with him to give my illusion magic a visual to lock onto. That is why I had you create the frame of the window. While it will be my magic enhancing it, it is your own magic acting as the base, and as such you are able to influence my magic as much as I allow you to. Of course, you already know this. It's taught to monster children in middle school."

Reaching forth to the active shortcut Blur had created, you added your illusion magic to the pattern of the frame, altering the intent and turning the doorway into a window.

"Now, think of the last encounter you had with your brother. This was likely when Error removed you from your universe, correct? Focus upon that moment, where your personal timeline converged with his personal timeline... and when the timelines separate, keep your focus upon his timeline, and not yours."

Several moments passed, and you prepared to rephrase the guiding command, but remained silent as the illusion magic flickered to life within the doorway. It showed a scene from the eyes of the Blueberry beside you, the view of Error standing over an UnderSwap Papyrus, seen from behind a nearby pillar. This was Blur's own memory tapped into on the doorway, successfully turning it into a window, and you observed the silent memory.

"Ah, I forgot about the silence that usually comes from the first so many window viewings. You're new to wielding such magic, and because it's not your own, you won't be able to practice it. Think about the way your brother's magic feels, and remember what he sounds like. Tune those memories into the window, in order for the intent of sound to be manifested."

Blur nodded firmly, his skull beading with a few more droplets of magic sweat. Once this was over, he'd need one of those legally required breaks and perhaps a nap to recover.

_"that's why you possessed my bro, right? because despite everything. you're still YOU. and we're still brothers. no matter the universe... you can't hurt me."_

The abrupt presence of sound had you smiling quietly to yourself, as the voice of the UnderSwap Papyrus came through. Now that the intent to manifest sound had been recognized by the illusion magic, the window was complete. All that was left to do was switch the focus to Papyrus himself...

"Good, Blur. Focus on Papyrus now, on his point of view in all of this. Imagine what things look like to him, and reach for his signature."

The screen of the window went blurry for a few moments- blurry, haha- and seemed to flicker a bit, before finally returning to the same visual it'd had before. He tried again, and then again, until it became clear that he couldn't focus on any view but his own... he was too emotionally connected to the scene. At that point, you decided to take control and use what you knew of UnderSwap Papyruses to perform the switch, focusing your knowledge and intent into the shared magic of the window. This was your area of expertise, after all, and you couldn't fault Blur for failure when he'd been doing so well thus far.

A few moments passed, and after a few more blurred visuals, the point of view was successfully altered. The events were now shown through the eyesockets of Blur's brother, as Blur himself was kidnapped into the Anti-Void with a final plea for help before the portal closed. You could almost feel the panicked anguish going through the skeleton still in the Judgment Hall, as he collapsed before the lone slipper left behind that you recognized as one of Error's, and remained staring down at it in disbelief- or denial.

"B-B͜R͝OT̢H̶E̛R͏.̛.͡."

Blur sounded upset. If he lost control over his half of the magic within the window, it would collapse, and the process would need to start over... better to connect yourself to the shortcut magic, just in case he destabilized and accidentally dropped it.

"This is necessary to find out where he is now, the now comparative to the events of your timeline. We need to follow his timeline for a few more minutes, maybe half an hour, as that is the amount of time you spent in actual places affected by time. If we go further, the knowledge gained could change the timeline, and that is... unacceptable."

The view in the window froze abruptly as Blur turned to face you, an expression of mixed emotion upon his skull. He stared at you, at first showing incredulity at your visible lack of care... then sorrow, then anger, and finally denial.

"HOW ͏CA̡Ņ Y͡OÙ S͞AY̶ ҉TH҉A̢T?̡ ̡I͡S̷N'͘T̀ ̧IT̕ BE͟T̀TER ̧TO̴ HAVE ͡THA͡T KNOWLED̕G͏Ę ̨S̡O̶ ͝W̸È CAN CH́A͢NG̛E IT ̢F́O̡R͏ T͟HȨ ҉BĘTTE̕R̡? S̨O ̷Į CAN͘ ̵F̢I̢ND̷ HI͘M SOOǸER?"

You shook your head, and the window began to glitch out with Blur's emotions. Forcing the window to resume showing the timeline, you observed a greyed-out Frisk come into view, as you explained your logic to Blur.

"Interference in the timelines is unacceptable. By helping you escape the Anti-Void, I have quite possibly interfered too much already, but it was a necessary evil. I am aware that this sounds selfish, but messing with the timelines that you don't belong in has significant consequences... The balance must be kept, and if you add too much weight to any one side, you will find yourself erased from the scales altogether."

The window glitched with Blur's frustration, and you quickly tugged upon the energy pattern in a few places to compensate. This was important- Papyrus was asking about another universe- but your current companion wasn't prepared to drop the subject so easily, and froze the window again.

"ÁR̷I͞S̡T͢A,̸ ͝TH̀IS IS MY̨ BR͠OT͘H͢ER̷!҉ ̷I̵ H̷A͞V̸E̴ TO̷ FI̕N̸D ̛H́I̴M̴! Y̸OU͏'̨R͞E ̨LO͘OK͝I̸NG F҉O͜R̕ ͞YOU̕R HO͞MÉ TI͏M̡E̵L͘INE ҉T҉ÒO҉, ͡R̶I͡G͜HT̡?͘ HOW͘ I̡S ̶THI̧S ͜ANY ̸DIF̷F̵ÈR̢EN̛T?"

You brought a gloved hand up to pinch the arch above your nosehole, beginning to become a bit frustrated. Interference was bad, it was a simple concept to know, but a difficult concept to explain. Thinking too hard upon such matters gave you a headache.

"The difference is between _personal_ timelines, and _universal_ timelines. Universal timelines- loosely defined over the most significant time periods in existence- are the timelines affected by the beings belonging to a specific universe and remaining within those universes. The absence of your personal timeline from your universe is already an interference to your universal timeline, which is why I ultimately decided that further interference would do little harm to the overall balance, and helped you escape from one timeless place to another. Your brother is still within the universal timeline, and it's when universal timelines are interfered with that the balance is thrown off. Interfering with his personal timeline at this moment would be interfering with the universal timeline."

Turning your attention elsewhere, you attempted to smooth over the fluctuating energies between your half and his half of the window, barely preventing the dissonance from crashing it. The frozen view remained, and you waited for Blur to calm down a little before resuming it...

The grey Frisk vanished as Papyrus walked through a doorway and out of the timeline, and you frowned to yourself as Blur raised a gloved fist in victory.

"THERE!̀ HIS ̨P͞E҉RSÒNA̴L T҉I̕M̡ELĮNE̷ W̕A̶S JU̴ST ̸ĮNŢE͡R҉FE̵R̢ED W̛ÌT͞H̶! ͢N͢OW ͞WHA͢T͝ ḐO Y͘O̷U͡ H̀AV͠E͏ TO ͡SAY?"

After a few quiet moments of coming to terms with the Multiverse trolling you, you shrugged, and gestured for Blur to continue watching if he so pleased.

"His personal timeline is now outside of its universal timeline. The consequences have thus already been measured and enforced. Should the human RESET while he and you are outside of your home timeline, the universe will replace you, and you will no longer belong anywhere at all. A subsequent fate worse than death is all but guaranteed..."

Blur stared at you for a few moments, certain in his knowledge that the human of his universal timeline couldn't RESET, and he couldn't help but wonder... What you had witnessed to become so certain of such drastic consequences for merely being in the wrong place at the wrong time? The stiffness your body language was like that of someone who had experienced great loss... 

Perhaps, he should ask you about it, but not now. Later, when the two of you had managed to cool down from the tension of your mutual disagreement. He would ask later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> »w»
> 
> That went well.


	46. And You Encountered a New Problem

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You decide to take a journey while Blur sleeps... look at where that takes you.

"AR͠I͘S҉ŢA,́ I͘ ͏CAN̡'͡T̴ HEAR͝ W҉H͝AT ̕T̶H̕E ̢GR̀E̶Y̕ HU̶ḾAN͘ I͝S S͠A͡YIN̶G̷.͝"

Blur was trying to make the voice of the grey Frisk audible, but the only voice that could be heard was that of Papyrus as he responded to them. It took a few moments for the entire situation to settle in...

You abruptly recalled that Blur's voices had mentioned something about Core!Frisk taking his brother someplace safe, and your gloved palm was suddenly reacquainted with the smooth slopes of your face. Of course, this greyed-out Frisk must be Core!Frisk, and an omnipresent being would be aware of someone spying on their conversations. There must be some sort of interference set up then, to prevent them from hearing what wasn't meant for their earholes. Or, perhaps, the child had just that much control over their presence that they could decide who perceived it and who didn't.

Either way, it made for a pointless window browsing.

"It is said that eavesdroppers rarely hear the better halves of conversation. Using this window makes us the eavesdroppers, and thus we have been denied the better half. It is also rude to speak of those who are listening, so I'll skip that part of this conversation, and simply mention that you've been holding that window up for a long time after several consecutive shortcuts. To get to the point- you need a break."

As you waited for a response, you inspected the golden star in your hands, connecting to the imbued magic of your gloves to truly feel the surface of the object. It hummed with a unique energy, one that emanated from the star itself and not the strings wrapped tightly around its core... and occasionally, it would glow for no logical reason, simply in reaction to something done or said. It was almost as though-

"N̶O̷NSE҉NSE͡! T͞HE M̢AGNI̛F͢IC͝E̕NT ҉B͘L͠UR͟ ̨I͜S NOWHE̶RE̴ N̷EA͞R̀ ͞T̴I̕R̡ED!"

You smirked within the darkness of your hood, placing the star back into the semi-solid pouch and approaching the other skeleton. He smiled nervously at your almost predatory gait, and when you got a little too close to his personal space, attempted to hide his mental exhaustion by brightening up his eyelights... It wasn't very effective.

"Blurry dear, I know you better than you know yourself. You are partially correct, in that your body isn't physically tired, but your mind is tired from the many events that occurred since you last slept. When could that have been? You weren't sleeping at any point in my presence, and the window has shown that you hadn't slept between the morning of the human's arrival and your removal from your universal timeline. I also highly doubt that you slept at all in the Anti-Void, what with your being either in the company of Error or constantly pressured by the vast silence of the place... So, look me in the eyes and tell me truthfully that you're not exhausted. If you can do that, I won't push you."

Blur glanced left and right, as though searching for a way out of the metaphorical corner he'd been backed into... but nobody came. Thus, he sighed and nodded, going through the process of closing the window and re-absorbing its energy in a show of defeat.

"I̴ GUE͟SS͢ I COUL͜D ̕USE͡ ̡A͢ ҉L͡IT̡TL̴E͜ R̀EST̢..̴. EV͝E͞N TH́E MO͜SŢ M̵AGNIFICE̛N̨T͡ BEIN͘GS̵ RĘQ̧U͘IRE̴ TH̡E͠IR̸ ҉BE͠ĄUTY ̧SL͘E̶E̶P͢!"

A firm nod punctuated the acceptance of his fate, and you suppressed some amused laughter at the seemingly endless well of optimism that Papyrus equivalents could tap into. Honestly, it was an amazing characteristic to possess, one which went far beyond your own.

"Excellent! I shall go acquire a bed for you while you rest, but for now, feel free to use mine. Any preferences?"

You led the skeleton one inch taller than yourself to the absurdly large bed that you had within your sleeping area, and smirked at the expression of awe upon his face. The awe gave his sky blue eyelights some spinning yellow stars in the middle, as he pressed a gloved hand into the mattress and discovered just how plush and inviting it was...

While you didn't have any true desire for material possessions anymore, you still had the basic survival needs of most living beings out there. Sleep was essential, and eating was essential... and you saw no need to have anything less than the best possible possessions for both.

The expression upon the Blueberry's face reminded you of a certain sinful timeline where a version of him was below SwapFell Sans for the first time... Nothing less than the best.

"I shall take that wordless enthusiasm as a sign that you want a bed similar to this. Alright, I'll keep an eyesocket out for one."

His long-suffering groan at the pun was muffled by the bed he'd flopped into, and you smirked at how he simply laid there face-down, unwilling to argue in the face of such comfort.

"If you wake up before I return, feel free to practice your shortcuts and otherwise entertain yourself. The only thing you must do is remain in this area. Sleep well!"

You waited a moment for an acknowledgement to what you'd said, and when he nodded, you reached forth and pulled yourself from the confines of Void. It was time to go hunting for a bed, and you still had that twenty-five G you'd obtained from Echotale, so you were going to grab yourself some food while you were at it. That is, if you could locate a decent store or cafe around these parts... but you also had another obligation to meet.

"Ink? Dream told me to call out for you outside the Void! Ink!?"

The universe you'd stepped into was an outdoorsy type, very lush and lively, if all the flora and fauna around you were anything to go by. However, there was also a powerful aura of magic in the area, one which burned warm like a fire of the hearth, yet could at any moment spread and consume an entire neighborhood in a blazing inferno. Welcoming, inviting, enticing, yet incredibly dangerous in its depths... You wondered whose domain you had dared tread upon.

Humming a soft melody as you moved, your footsteps were silenced by the grass beneath your feet, curiosity and desire to be perceived as non-threatening driving you to make your presence known. Interaction with the locals wouldn't be an interference with the universal timeline as long as you didn't remove anyone or change any important events, and thus, you justified the searching pulse of magic you sent out through the area. 

It was a light pulse, meant to brush upon the awareness of anyone nearby and reveal your presence in a manner that showed you meant no harm, but the pulse that came back to you was entirely unexpected. The returned pulse was rife with shock, joy, recognition, and a smattering of various other emotions, giving you only a moment's warning before you were abruptly enveloped in a soft and furry hug.

"Heavens, Arista, how is it you have returned!?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It is the return of the dreaded number vote!  
> 1-10!  
> How will things turn out this time? O.O


	47. In The Midst of Life and Death

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You've been unofficially captured by gods. Now what?

Oh no. You'd never encountered a universe where your alternate was remembered after being erased... and it seemed as though your counterpart was a very powerful and influential being here, if the sudden surge of strength through your soul meant anything... But, this wasn't your universe. You couldn't simply pretend that you belonged here.

"My apologies ma'am, but I'm not sure what you mean."

There, that should reveal that you're not from around here. For good measure, you removed yourself from her embrace. It had the possibility of backfiring, but Toriel was a pacifist in the vast majority of universes, and her weakness for teaching children could rival your own. Your size made you seem the likeness of a child, if nothing else.

"Oh you poor thing. The mirror, dear. You gave the last of your magic to restore the mirror."

You slowly began to edge off to the side, glancing left and right from within the darkness of your hood in search of a quick escape route. A universe where you were remembered, yet one so different from your own? This was interference by simply being present, and you had to leave before you caused further disturbance. A chance encounter could be corrected easily through the 'oops I must have mistaken you for somebody else' trick of the Multiverse, but actual confirmation from an outside source was something else entirely. It would be different if you were from this universe, but this... this was not your universe.

"heh, hey tori. replacing me already?"

...stars dammit. Now a skeleton knew you were here, and was standing right behind you. No more easy escapes now. You might as well just see where things go, at this point.

"Greetings Sans! Look at who I've found! Can you believe it?"

Toriel had her hands on your shoulders in a few quick motions, and turned you around to face the Sans present. With your magic-imbued hood up, you had the benefit of keeping your features hidden while you observed his... except his hood was up as well, and cast the top half of his skull in shadow. All you could see was his bemused grin, strange black robes, and a slightly more active stance than you were used to seeing from Sanses. He was slightly familiar...

"...huh. y'know tor, i can't really see her with that cloak covering everything up."

You delicately slid out from underneath the Toriel's gentle grip and brought your gloved hands up in a dismissive gesture, slightly tense from the sheer amount of power you could feel coming from the two beings on either side of you. Quickly, think of a way to extricate yourself...

"It is no trouble at all, I should probably be going anyways. I was simply heading to a marketplace nearby, and was drawn to the beautiful flora and fauna here. My apologies for interrupting your meeting, I'll just be on my way now."

A few steps were taken firmly towards the path past Sans, as you guessed that was the direction the exit was in. Unfortunately, you couldn't take a shortcut near these two and risk them catching on- and that risk was great, with the amount of power they had. Granted, being in this universe was boosting your own power to whatever it had been for your alternate, but you simply could not risk it. You were not Frisk, and you could do just fine without risk.

"Sans, she seems to have forgotten who she is."

Toriel was a lovely person, truly, but you didn't quite appreciate how meddlesome she could be at times. It was often unintentional meddling too, merely a part of her motherly nature, but it was a strong inconvenience most of the times that it had been directed towards you.

"Please just let me leave. I'll be out of your fur in just a few moments, and you'll never have to hear from me again. I have obligations to keep and a limited time in which to keep them."

The Void was a timeless place, so returning to it after a while _technically_ brought you back to the exact moment you left, but you'd rather not risk Blur waking up in your absence. Unfortunately, it seemed that these two weren't willing to let it go, if the bony, black-robed arm blocking your way meant anything.

"nah. you're interesting. and tori's right, you seem to be forgetting a little something important..."

You mentally calculated your chances to escape successfully as you responded, bringing one gloved hand up to your hip in a manner that suggested sass.

"Alright then, tell me. What precisely might that be, Sans?"

...you didn't like the way his grin widened. Apparently, neither did Toriel, because she sighed and spoke up instead of allowing him to do so.

"You are a goddess, Arista, just as I am a goddess and Sans is a god. Is there anything at all you remember of us?"

Their soul auras were getting stronger, Toriel's in particular. You could sense her good intent and desire to restore your lost memories, but knew that she was still unaware of your true origin. This situation was bad, one you hadn't encountered before, and you could only play along if you wanted to avoid revealing any catastrophic information...

"Nothing. I have absolutely no idea the relevance of your existences to this world, nor the relevance of my existence to this world."

There- you didn't lie, so they won't be able to read your soul and call you out on that. Unfortunately, it seemed that you would be stuck here for a little while, until you gathered enough information to escape properly... At least your curiosity was getting itself satisfied, today.

"well, we'll just have to show you. tori, mind if i bring her to the others? since you're still technically in hiding and all."

The look on the goddess' face was deep consideration, and the response she gave had you pale beneath the darkness of your hood.

"I suppose I have been hiding away for long enough today. There is much to catch up on, if I am to assist this reborn goddess."

Stars, this was bad. Scratch that- this was potentially _cataclysmic_. Toriel coming out of her self-imposed seclusion was a VERY IMPORTANT EVENT in the timelines you'd observed- the event that allowed the human to bypass fighting Asgore- and if she wasn't already supposed to leave at this moment in the universal timeline, you had just monumentally screwed up. There had to be a way to make sure that this event was supposed to happen now.

"Um, are you only leaving for me? If it's only for me, that's not necessary at all. In fact, if it's only for me, I'd prefer we stay here."

Please let the timeline not be fucked up, please let the timeline not be fucked up...

"No dear, it's not only for you. I was planning on returning today with Sans here, in order to check upon my children in the castle. It is a weekly occurrence."

You visibly relaxed, closing your bone lids in sheer relief. The fact that this was closely observed by Sans went unnoticed, as did the expression of neutral curiosity upon his skull. For a suddenly reborn goddess, you were acting more like a mortal than anything else... he had a few suspicions about you, and none of them were good. Sans had seen the crafty evil of corrupted mortals in the past, and while most of the corruption had been cleansed, there were still areas in the mortal realm that were rife with chaos and malevolence.

"welp, let's go then. i'm sure you remember how to travel between the realms..."

You knew that calculating situational nudging like you knew the back of your hand... Sans equivalents were far too perceptive. Alas, you had no choice but to go along with the situation, but at least you had Toriel to act as a shield.

"Oh Sans, she was just reborn! Certainly she has much to learn."

Yep... good ol' Toriel shielding... just as long as you didn't interfere with the universal timeline...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I find it interesting that nobody is trying to be the devil on Blur's shoulder... not one comment has been trying to make him do something that could possibly be dangerous or detrimental.   
> You're all very benevolent readers, aren'tcha? »w»


	48. You Walked Amongst the Heavens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You've been kidnapped by gods, and Ink isn't helping you whatsoever. That jerk.

In a nearby bush, Ink observed as Arista was effectively kidnapped by the two gods, and smiled in quite the devious manner. This situation was rather unexpected, but maybe it would do her a bit of good! She needed to relax, and exploring new AU's was the perfect way to do so! There was no risk of repercussions for interfering at this point, what with this being the concluded 'Alpha Timeline' of this universe, as she'd called it in her notes. Now she could have a bit of fun!

"ink, we should tell her that this is a safe timeline to be in... she doesn't know..."

The colorful skeleton looked over at the first of his two temporary companions, having forgotten about their presence, and blinked as he took in the concerned expression on the sweater-clad skeleton. His eyelights changed to a red question mark and a blue crescent, before another blink changed them to a yellow star and a blue circle as he grinned with mischievous glee.

"Nah. She'll figure it out eventually. Arista's a smart cookie like that!"

A quiet groan and an amused chuckle were heard in sync from the two others, and the colorful skeleton raised a single bone brow. The third skeleton, who wore a comfortable, furless hoodie, finally spoke up.

"ink, you're kinda being a jerk, but you also have a good point."

A wave of Ink's brush had the hoodie-clad skeleton suddenly sporting a stylish handlebar moustache, and he stared with exasperation at the protector skeleton's amused expression.

"Come on, have a little fun! She hasn't been in this universe before, or even seen it, and I know there's a spark of curiosity in her just dying to know everything about this place! We might as well let it be as surprising as possible."

The first skeleton frowned sympathetically, and made another small attempt to help his friend.

"...ink, please just tell her that it's a safe timeline. she already called your name, you can respond to her now... besides, wouldn't it be more fun if she didn't need to worry about accidentally destroying the universe...?"

The brush was almost dodged by the first skeleton as it was swung, and Ink laughed in victory, swinging a splash of glittery black paint onto the cream sweater which spread across the entire article of clothing... Now the sweater was possessing the color and shimmer of stars in the nighttime sky, seeming to bring out the black design of the white scarf resting over it. The colorful skeleton was pleased with this development, and he thus agreed.

"Okay, I'll let her know. Now let's go follow them!"

Two nods of assent, one splash of paint upon the ground, and zero skeletons remained behind the large bush...

* * *

_'Hey Arista, it's Ink! This is an Alpha Timeline, so don't worry about messing things up!'_

You stumbled in step, not expecting the voice of that skeleton to abruptly sound itself inside your skull, and quickly recovered under the suspicious eye of the native Sans. Toriel was humming a lovely song ahead of you, leading the way towards a temple of some sort to use a transportation inside... the humans nearby didn't seem to see or notice any of you at all.

Hesitantly, you tried to send your thoughts to the colorful skeleton that had contacted you, wondering if you'd actually heard him in the first place, or if it was possible to do so.

_'Um, Ink? I have something for you from a Dream Sans... and what point is this Alpha Timeline at in terms of Multiversal Awareness? Wait, is Note okay!?'_

This time, when a response came, you were able to continue walking smoothly. The temple was a little further down the dirt and cobblestone road, and as you got closer, you noticed that it seemed to be in a state of minor disrepair... as though it had been abandoned for some time, and then someone started to fix it up for use again.

_'I'll come get it later, you just satisfy that curiosity of yours for now! Have fun with the gods and goddesses!'_

There was the distinct sensation of a connection being disrupted, and when you tried to reach for that part of your mind that had been communicating with Ink, you found nothing. That skeleton hadn't answered your questions... how rude!

A tap to your shoulder had you glancing back sharply, and relaxing when you saw that it was only Sans. He seemed to be looking you over in a thoughtful manner, but said nothing when he finally had your attention, and you frowned to yourself as you turned forward again. Several moments passed before your other shoulder was tapped, and when you peered back again, the god was just smiling in amusement... 

You turned forward again, and when he tapped you a third time, you decided that enough was enough.

"Keep that up, and I might have a bone to pick with you."

A low chuckle was his response... followed by another tap. After a few moments of consideration as to what being here a little while could really hurt, you smirked to yourself and decided to take Ink's advice. Too many stressful things had occurred recently, and you needed a break. Maybe the Multiverse had brought you here for that purpose- it _did_ love its balance, perhaps a little too much. Having a little fun couldn't hurt, since it was apparently the Alpha Timeline...

"Moooom, Sans keeps touching me! Are we there yet?"

The skeleton behind you chuckled again in audible amusement at your imitation of an impatient child, and you smirked to yourself when Toriel turned around with an equally playful grin.

"Now, now, children, play nice with each other. We're almost there."

As the three of you approached the temple, you took a moment to carefully scan the surroundings as you first entered. The lighthearted atmosphere remained for a while as Sans kept tapping your shoulders and you kept complaining about it, playing up the impatient child persona to a tee...

You didn't notice the shared glance between the two gods at your apparent ignorance of the skeleton's deadly touch.

Soon, the three of you reached an odd platform in a back room of the temple. It appeared to be crafted of marble, smoothed and polished to perfection, and was inscribed with countless symbols you were well familiar with. Wing Dings, declaring that this pedestal was to be untouched by impure mortal hands, and the punishments that would befall them for doing such a thing... right.

"welp, all aboard the inter-realm express."

You glanced back at Sans again, and delicately hopped onto the platform beside Toriel, watching the skeleton closely. Something about him was incredibly familiar, and you were going to figure it out eventually... once you took in the view of the beautiful city you found yourself now standing in. 

It was difficult to describe, with many visually distinctive areas separated from each other yet blending together at the seams- you could see darkness and light, fire and ice, and everything in between. Monsters of many types walked up and down the oddly glimmering streets, clad in stylish togas and robes that brought to mind the human mythos of Mount Olympus...

Huh. Greco-Roman human mythology must be what this universe is based off of. With the monsters being gods and goddesses, you could certainly see how this would fit into the theme. In that case, which monster represented which god or goddess? You could almost see Toriel being the monster version of Hera or Juno, but she wasn't quite vindictive or cold enough, and you couldn't really see Asgore cheating on her in the promiscuous manner of Zeus or Jupiter... Perhaps you were thinking too deeply into the matter.

"Follow me, my child. We are almost there!"

Suddenly aware of the fact that you had been standing in place for a few moments now, you stepped off the end platform and onto the shimmering streets, continuing to look around at the aesthetic beauty. Your cloak made you feel somewhat out of place, but a quick alteration to the colors- the cloth from indigo to black, and the fur lining from black to a glittery imitation of the starry nighttime sky- had your nerves settled a bit. Changing the color of your cloak was something you did only in universes you wished to camouflage yourself in for better chances of survival- did this place strike you as so dangerous? Your instincts said that yes, this place was as dangerous as it was pleasant to the eyesocket...

"welp, should we show her to gaster first?"

Your skull twitched slightly towards Sans, turning to take in the sight of his own skull directly observing you. Gaster hadn't been erased in this universe? Or was it a matter that he had been recovered from his erasure?

"you seem to be remembering something, _arista_. why don't you ask us about it, hmm?"

...there was that uncomfortably accurate perception of a Sans showing again. You couldn't say that you had missed it, but no matter- now you had to ask something without sounding like you knew too much... or too little.

"That name, Gaster. It is familiar to me, as though..."

You trailed off, feeling a strange sort of energy pulse from within your soul. This only happened in universes where your alternate had some sort of magic source that differed from your own- Dancetale was one such example. Before you had stepped into Dancetale, you hadn't been able to dance the way the native monsters had, but eventually you had gained the dance style of your alternate. What sort of strange magic had your alternate possessed here?

"as though what?"

Snapping from your thoughts, you turned to face forward again, walking slightly faster to catch up to Toriel.

"As though it were a dream."

There, that should be sufficient to throw off any suspicion. In most universes where Gaster had been shattered and recovered, those who knew him usually took a few days to fully recall him, and those recollections were dim and distant at first. These two gods thought that you had lost your memory, so you ought to play the part, just for a while longer...

Besides, what harm could truly occur?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I'm kinda running out of steam here. I need some ideas for AU's to visit and things to do before writer's block decides to sit on my face xP
> 
> So here's your vote! (Oh look, it's not a blind vote.)  
> A: Plot  
> B: New AU  
> C: Angst  
> D: Fluff  
> E: Science
> 
> Plz make suggestions for the options chosen if you choose anything other than A. You can choose multiple things =)


	49. And Discovered a Darkness Within the Stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You meet Gaster and learn some interesting things about your alternate.

"Welcome to the castle, my child."

The decor reflected that of the city outside, shimmering and of high quality, yet humble in its beauty. There was a corridor of red and gold tiles to pass through beforehand, but once that final separation was passed, there were revealed the bright rooms of quartz and marble. From the expression upon Toriel's face, this was a bittersweet location to see... the darkness of the Judgement Hall's walls and ceiling transitioning to the bright expanse of the heavenly daytime skies.

You felt that your descriptions of this place were inadequate, but continued to attempt categorizing them for the sake of your future notes.

"home sweet home, eh tor?"

The room seemed to glow a lovely greenish-gold with Toriel's presence, and a darkened blackish-blue with that of Sans. As more beings entered the room, more colorful glows became apparent against the blank canvassing that the white environment provided. If there was a glow coming from yourself, it was too faint for you to notice, or it matched too closely with one of the others present...

**"My Queen, I do believe that every time I see you, your beauty is found to be lovelier than the last. You are here to visit the children, I presume?"**

The first additional being spoke and signed simultaneously, his voice familiar and his hands certain. It was the Gaster of this universe, his aura radiating powerful waves of magic without any effort exerted on his part whatsoever... The monsters of this universe truly were gods, weren't they?

Toriel laughed in response to the pleasant flattery that the man portrayed, waving him off with one paw and bringing you forth with another.

"Yes indeed, but I have another matter of equal importance. This seems to be Arista, reborn as I was, and I believe that you are the key to restoring her lost memories."

You hummed in a cheerful manner, rocking back and forth upon the heels of your boots as you did so. This movement was both a calming one for you, and one you often performed when attempting to lower the guards of those around you. It was usually quite effective, despite the cloak... or because of the cloak. The cloak did add an adorable factor to your small size.

_If you look cute, monsters won't hit you as hard._

**"...my Queen, this is impossible. The last of her energy was consumed by the Mirror! Where did you find her?"**

Pretending not to know what his sign language or foreign words meant, you peered around the throne room at the various beings present, and found three children peering back at you from behind a pillar. The situation sent a pang of déjà vu through your soul... it was almost exactly like that of the day your existence as a test subject ended, when you were presented to the King and deemed as a failure.

You stared blankly at the children, not aware of the removal of your hood until a bony hand was run through your long, intangible hair.

"well, she looks and feels like our arista. and she's immune to my touch... 'though her power is muted."

Eyelights extinguished, you took a step away from the native Sans, reaching up to remove his bony hand before doing so. His reaction was an amused chuckle and a strongly hidden sadness... Shit, you were a total sucker for sad skeletons and children. Speaking of children, the three kids had snuck over to another pillar closer to you, acting as though they were spies on an urgent mission.

"Pardon my ignorance, but what's so harmful about your touch? You were tapping me on the shoulders the entire journey here."

...the reaction that this question garnered was quite diverse. Some beings present gasped, others frowned, and some outright left. You could feel your soul being inspected for lies, and crossed your arms over your sternum, releasing a pulse of magic warning them to discontinue this action if they knew what was good for them... 

The children nearby giggled at the appalled expressions upon most of the adults' faces, and rushed over from their hiding spot before anyone could stop them, leaping onto your stationary form with unusual grace and knocking you over. With that, your fate was sealed- you were doomed to public humiliation at the hands of children, and a total disregard for any threat you could possibly pose.

Truly, this was the worst possible outcome.

"welp, to answer your question, i kill people by touchin' 'em. it's kinda my thing."

That explained their reactions quite well actually. Touching the untouchable... haha... This Sans must be so incredibly touch-starved. The poor dear...

"That makes sense. Children, kindly remove yourselves from my person. I have a skeleton to hug."

Wow. That was fast. Perhaps they knew he needed a hug, and couldn't give him one themselves, so they tried to make you do it... smart kids.

"wait, what-"

You teleported away, and right when everyone had begun looking around in shock, hugged the skeleton from behind. The choked sound that came from him made you smirk against his spine- curse your shortness!- and the three children ran off, laughing in their successful venture.

"..."

The skeleton was officially hugged, and froze within his robes, going perfectly still in uncertainty and embarrassment. His hood was pulled down to cover his skull from anyone who dared take a picture of his flustered face- we're looking at you, Frisk- leaving the only face visible in this hug to be your satisfied smirk.

"Friendship! It's great, right?"

Toriel seemed to be rather amused by the reaction of her friend- wait no, was that a gleam of slight, assertive satisfaction? So he wasn't only a friend... haha, poor Asgore. You wondered, what did he do in this universe to earn her ire?

Releasing the skeleton, you turned to Gaster, who had been watching the impromptu hugging session with a single bone brow raised. He seemed amused more than anything else, but also incredibly fascinated... that made his approach a tad more deliberate than he wanted it to seem. Such an interesting creature, immune to the touch of death itself yet not causing the deaths of others by touch- demonstrated by the children- could it truly be his creation reborn?

**"Arista... come with me. Sans, Papyrus, you as well. It is time we put this mystery to rest."**

Guiding the short skeleton that had decided to emulate a statue to the best of his ability, Papyrus grinned wide and sent a wink in your direction, before following the man who spoke in hands out of the room. With a shrug and a final glance towards Toriel scolding the children, you followed the three out of sight of the others, more curious about this universe than ever.

Hey, if you had an alternate that was remembered here, you could ask about her! Plus since they thought you were an amnesiac, it wouldn't look suspicious! Awesome.

"Papyrus, do you think you could tell me what I used to be like?"

The tall skeleton hummed a thoughtful note, tapping a bare phalanx against his jaw before turning to you with that same smile as before.

"YOU HAVEN'T CHANGED AT ALL, SISTER! YOU'RE STILL AS CONSIDERATE AND CONFUSING AS EVER!"

...he misunderstood the question. That adorable creature.

"I was referring more to concrete memories, dear. For example, what did I do as a goddess? Who did I keep in my company? What was I even the goddess of?"

That seemed to have gotten him excited, if the sudden hug he gave you meant anything. Indeed, instead of setting you down, the tall skeleton simply set you on his shoulders and answered your questions like that.

"WELL, THE VERY LAST THING YOU DID WAS FIX THE MIRROR AND RESTORE GASTER TO EXISTENCE! STRANGELY, YOU WERE ONE OF THE ONLY GODS AND GODDESSES TO REMEMBER HIM WHILE HE WAS SHATTERED... THAT'S STILL A MYSTERY. BEFORE THAT, YOU HELPED KEEP THE REALMS IN BALANCE, MAKING CERTAIN THAT THERE WASN'T TOO MUCH OF SOMETHING IN ANY ONE AREA! YOU SHOWED ME ONE TIME IN THE MORTAL REALM, WHEN THE MAGIC OF LIFE AND DEATH MIXED, AND EXPLAINED IT TO ME QUITE WELL!"

Well then... keeping the Balance? That sounded like something you'd do, haha. It was essentially what you did right now, preventing yourself from messing with universal timelines too much.

"THERE WERE ALSO OTHER THINGS YOU DID, BUT THOSE WERE WITH SANS. YOU WOULDN'T BELIEVE HOW MANY TIMES I CAUGHT THE TWO OF YOU CANOODLING! SOMETHING HAPPENED THOUGH, AND YOU STOPPED SEEING EACH OTHER. YOU STILL HUNG OUT WITH ME THOUGH, SO DON'T FEEL BAD!"

Well then. 

You never thought you'd encounter a universe where you'd been dating one of the skeleton brothers, but sheesh, here one is. That must be awkward for Sans- he was clearly in a relationship with Toriel at the moment- and possibly upsetting for the goddess herself. At least she was more classy than to shun someone simply because of past relationships... maybe you'd been friends with her before?

"Who did I consider my friends? You're one of them obviously, but who else?"

The tall skeleton paused for a moment, taking on a thoughtful pose that had you gripping his shoulders a bit tighter from where you had been seated, before continuing after the silent Sans and Gaster.

"YOU GOT ALONG WELL WITH EVERYONE, I THINK! ASGORE WOULD OFTEN HAVE TEA WITH YOU. TORIEL AND YOU WOULD COOK AND GOSSIP TOGETHER. GERSON AND ALPHYS HAD RATHER CONFUSINGLY COMPLEX CONVERSATIONS WITH YOU, SEPARATELY AND TOGETHER. UNDYNE AND YOU WOULD SPAR WITH EACH OTHER, SOMETIMES INCLUDING ME, BUT MORE OFTEN BY YOURSELVES."

He shifted slightly, and you pat his hooded skull reassuringly, getting the idea that he wanted to join in the sparring sessions more often. Learning about your alternate self was a lot weirder than you'd thought it would be... but at least you had some more information to go off of, for avoiding erasure once you found your home timeline.

"YOU'D KEEP ME AND SANS COMPANY WHILE WE WERE REAPING SOULS, AND HELPED GUIDE THEM TO THE AFTERLIVES THAT THEY DESERVED AFTER THEY WERE REAPED. AND I'M NOT SURE WHAT YOU DID WITH GASTER, BUT IT WAS VERY IMPORTANT AND HAD TO DO WITH YOUR KEEPING THE BALANCE. I THINK YOU GOT ALONG WELL WITH EVERYONE BECAUSE IT WAS IN THE NATURE OF YOUR SOUL TO. ALTHOUGH I COULD NEVER UNDERSTAND HOW YOU GOT ALONG WITH JERRY."

...you got along with _Jerry_?

Welp, that's another thing you never thought you'd find an alternate of yourself doing. Stars. Moving along!

"Haha, I sound like a pretty awesome goddess. Why did I cease to be? You mentioned fixing a Mirror of some sort?"

A sudden tug on your hood had you falling back until you were upside-down, your spine against Papyrus' spine as you stared the culprit of the tug in the eyesockets... Sans didn't seem very pleased. The look in his eyelights was incredibly calculating, and it was all you could do to not react negatively... so you manifested and stuck out a small, cute, indigo tongue at him.

"heh heh heh! wow, that's really childish. anyways, just wanted to let you two know that we're here."

Your legs were abruptly released, and your body fell back towards the ground, but a quickly taken handhold had you landing upon a knee and a foot instead of your skull. That patella was gonna be aching for some time now...

"WONDERFUL! ARISTA, NOW YOU CAN SEE THE MIRROR YOU FIXED!"

The native Sans assisted you to a standing position, and blocked the exit with a grin in doing so... cheeky bastard.

"yeah. just watch gaster and see if anything is familiar to you. wouldn't want you to stay an amnesiac forever."

Somehow, the ominous way he said that sent a chill up your spine. Not for the first time, you began to wonder just what it was that you'd gotten yourself into for the sake of your curiosity, and hoped that satisfaction would make it worthwhile...

"So, Gaster. What exactly did you have in mind for helping me recall my um... lost memories?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally the Reapertale visit was gonna end this chapter, but I decided to extend it cuz it's awesome xD


	50. In Debate with Your Nature

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You discover new things about yourself, and get a glimpse of the end.

"So, Gaster. What exactly did you have in mind for helping me recall my um... lost memories?"

The man ignored you in favor of holding out his hand towards a wall, and sending a stream of magic into an odd barrier you hadn't noticed beforehand... The barrier turned translucent, and there came an odd pulse of energy from the room beyond. It felt familiar, as though it were your own, but was infinitely more expansive than your own... You took a step back, not noticing the way that your long, candle-like hair flickered with agitation.

"huh. she seems to recognize it."

Realizing that your eyelights had fizzled out, you blinked them back into existence, the indigo diamonds returning in their normal, upright position.

**"Fascinating... Arista, beyond this barrier is where the Mirror is kept. Only those born of the brightest stars or darkest black holes may enter, and of those few beings, only those with pure intentions may pass the barrier. How do you think you shall go?"**

...you chose not to answer immediately, curiously tapping the barrier with your gloved phalanges. The shocking sensation of energy pulsing through your hand gave you the reminder that your gloves were still connected to your senses, and a quick disconnection fixed that problem. Things were fairly settled as they were... however, something deep inside of you drove you to speak, telling you that pretending ignorance of his speech was futile.

"An interesting concept. However, if things are the way they are, I shouldn't be able to enter in the first place. I am neither light, nor darkness. It is in the composition of my very being to defy such classification."

Papyrus gasped, reaching forth to sweep you up into a hug. Oh dear, this skeleton must also be touch-starved, having been created the same way Sans was... poor boy.

"IT HAS TO BE ARISTA, FATHER! SHE SPOKE THE EXACT SAME WAY BACK THEN, NOW SHE JUST NEEDS TO FIGURE IT OUT AGAIN!"

Once you were returned to the ground, you approached the translucent barrier once more, and felt another pulse from the room beyond. Something came over your senses, something deep within your soul moving to remove your left glove and tap the barrier in an odd pattern. The skeletons around you watched silently- perhaps curious as to what you were doing, perhaps skeptical that you could go through, perhaps both- as you shifted the pattern every few moments in accordance to that distant part of your soul...

A crack formed before your eyesockets, and you hastily drew back your bare hand, watching as the barrier glowed and mended itself with what felt like your magic. Your magic... did your alternate version help create or modify this protection? If so, you just needed to sync up with the correct frequency, and you'd be able to pass through despite the restrictions. Yet, what was the right frequency?

You charged your hand with a mixture of magic types, concentrating upon this puzzle set before you with a focus that Papyrus equivalents everywhere would be proud of. Each failed mixture brought forth cracks in the barrier, but your goal was not to break it, so you allowed it time to regenerate before trying again... and again... and again, until finally, your hand passed through.

An excited squeal from behind you sounded as you walked through the barrier and gave a fancy little curtsey-bow to your audience, Papyrus rushing through to give you a victorious embrace. He had to crouch down to do so without picking you up, and the sight was no doubt comical, but you didn't mind it. Being able to access the part of yourself that came from this alternate was enough of an accomplishment that your victorious mood overshadowed the negative aspects of such an action, granting temporary emotional immunity to what would usually be somewhat embarrassing.

"ARISTA, I DIDN'T DOUBT IT FOR A SECOND! FATHER, LET'S SHOW HER THE MIRROR NOW!"

You were guided- not picked up and moved, just ushered forth like a baby chick under the care of the Great Reaper Papyrus- into the room where the pulses had originated from, and upon laying eyelights upon the source of the pulses, you froze. The Mirror... no wonder they referred to it so reverently. The surface within the outline alone seemed... infinite...

**"This is the Mirror, a channel to the very CORE of our universe, able to see EVERYTHING that exists and will ever exist."**

As though the words were a trigger, Papyrus leaned forward around you to peer over your expression, grinning as he waved his brother over to do the same... The two brothers looked at your skull, looked at each other, and looked at Gaster as you spoke with the influence of your alternate's magic upon you.

"Can it tell stories?"

The three smiled in a secretive manner, as though you had just answered an unspoken question and joined a cult... what?

**"It can. A story of the beginning. A story of the end. You only need to ask it, however, always be mindful- there are an infinite number of beginnings and an infinite number of ends. Who knows which story it will tell?"**

Infinite... so this Mirror was the equivalent of his Timeline Project... _the machine of this world_... Did it focus only upon timelines within this universe, or could it extend to other universes as well? You had to find out. You had to know what happened in your home timeline. This could be your only chance.

"A machine made of many different cogs and pistons and gears doesn't work properly when one of these pieces is out of place. Of all that exists and will ever exist... does it see the displaced pieces as well?"

Your eyelights flickered out as you reached forth and touched the surface of the Mirror, sending the room into a vast darkness like that of the Void...

* * *

_"Unaffected by time, it is the dimension that permeates and acts as a barrier between all other universes, and can be used to witness the timelines of the universes it surrounds through condensed windows."_

_..._

_"Does it see the displaced pieces as well?"_

_..._

_You stared around yourself, floating in an endless expanse that reminded you of the Void. The memories of things you'd said and heard echoed throughout the empty darkness, blending together into incoherent murmurs that became faded background noise. As you peered around, stars began to form in the darkness, and the three native skeletons of this universe came forth... along with a the native version of yourself._

_"Hello, I am you. How do you like my universe thus far?"_

_The alternate spoke to you, and you were abruptly able to sympathize with the Sans equivalents that encountered their alternate selves. This was... almost stressful?_

_"It's a tad off-putting, but very beautiful. Power and positive aesthetic blend nicely here."_

_She smiled, approaching you as the other three skeletons observed in silence. They weren't aware of the subtext of this conversation- the native Arista knew you were from another universe, likely due to living on in the Mirror, and you knew that she knew you knew that... Lots of knowledge that the other skeletons present wouldn't pick up because, well, they weren't you._

_"Interesting. Well, we both know what you want to know, and they know what they want to know. Fortunately, the dual interests segue together nicely. Shall I tell our secret?"_

_Tell them that you're not from this universe?_

_"That is... dangerous to prolonged survival. I'm certain you're aware of this, so why did you ask?"_

_The other you smirked, reaching forth and delicately removing your cloak, revealing your clothes beneath it. You allowed the action, watching curiously as she pulled the cloak over herself and tried it on for size._

_"You cannot hide yourself away forever. The actions you have made as of late have set forth a chain of events that cannot be altered. All you can do now is abide by the decisions you have made- the decisions that **they** have made for you- and keep hope that the final outcome is the best possible outcome."_

_She reached forth and took hold of your gloves, a tingling sensation running over your bones as she manipulated the color and form of your outfit. Where there used to be white was a constantly shifting background that matched your hair... how odd. Primarily indigo, but occasional streaks of various soul colors would flow through it like a river. As to the form, the skirts of your dress dipped down with a ruffled flair, and your gloves gained ruffles to match them..._

_You wondered what possible purpose these alterations had, but she ignored the thought, choosing instead to return your cloak to you. A moment's thought supposed that they didn't really matter, and that they looked pretty awesome, so you could live with the change. It must be for a reason, after all._

_"This is your outfit shown in the optimal outcome. I figured it would be in our best interest to have one of the puzzle pieces in play... Now then, the reason that Gaster, Sans, and Papyrus brought you here is to restore my memories to you. I won't do that, because you're not going to stay here. Your skull is full enough already. However, I will impress the idea that you are me in the sense that you are you."_

_You blinked in surprise... and then dismissed the surprise. This was a version of yourself that both had access to everything in existence and was exponentially more powerful than yourself. She had her reasons._

_"Excellent. You understand then, what must be done."_

_She didn't wait for a response, immediately turning to wave forth an echo from the background as an answer to your unspoken question._

_..._

_"The Judge exists to factually measure the amount of LOVE within a soul, and declare a suitable judgement. The Jury exists to hear the words of the people involved, innocent and guilty alike, and determine how the factual judgement given needs to be altered in each situation. Finally, the Executioner exists to make certain that the final judgement is carried out, and the balance is restored."_

_..._

_"You understand then, what must be done."_

_..._

_The echoes faded once more, and the alternate version of yourself leaned forward to hug you. As she drew back, she rearranged your cloak to neatly cover your features once more, and smirked slightly at the sight as she waved you from the Mirror. A gradually building light formed behind her, turning her form to a silhouette._

_"Go on then, shoo. Keep hiding away, but when the opportunity comes to show your true colors, do take it. After all, opportunity never knocks twice, but it will just this once for you."_

_The light flared outwards and became blinding, causing everyone present to close and cover their eyesockets as one final echo played through..._

_..._

_A skeleton of glitched nature stood upon the edge of the coded world, staring down upon the few monsters remaining from this timeline. Among them were Toriel, Sans, Papyrus, Undyne, Alphys, Mettaton, and Asgore, staring back at him with the intent to defend their home timeline no matter what. They looked ready for a fight, and you were ready to join them... but something kept you from doing so._

_You could only watch as blue strings surged forth and pierced the cavernous environment, and the group of boss monsters rushed forth in battle, raising their weapons to FIGHT off the destroyer of worlds..._

_It was the end._

* * *

When the light faded, the room of the Mirror was empty. The four skeletons came to in the hallway outside, their memories of the events within the room confused and fading, as the magic of this universe's Arista granted you MERCY. As you brought yourself to an upright position, the knowledge settled itself deep within your soul... You would not be allowed within that room again, until the end had been witnessed in full.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 50 guys, holy shit. I'm sorry I didn't update yesterday, but it's chapter 50, I had to make it perfect. ~~I rewrote this at least five times, help.~~ There could be nothing less than perfection.
> 
> So, how did y'all like it? I hope I did a good »w»
> 
> Here's a new blind vote for y'all!  
> X, Y, or Z?
> 
> * * *
> 
> Quick shoutout for Optima_chama and CallmeBooyah, the two who are trying their hardest to figure out how to communicate with the characters in my other multi-chapter fic. This is their final clue:  
> |  
> |  
> V


	51. Your Constellation Called for You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fluff! Kinda... maybe a little angst...  
> You become reacquainted with the gods and goddesses of this universe.

As you were lifted onto the shoulders of the Great Papyrus and carried away from the Mirror, the three native skeletons settled into their faded memories quite nicely. They retained the knowledge that you were Arista, but no knowledge of what was actually spoken within the room- at least, this is what the energy belonging to the native Arista relayed to you.

You were nervous. Why would they accept the lack of memories so easily? Did things like this happen often enough that they were used to it? Were they perhaps subconsciously recalling what it was like to forget Gaster when he was erased here, and adapting similarly so they didn't experience the dissonance of the event? So many questions, so many possibilities, and no way to know which possibility was the one in this timeline.

_'Ink, are you nearby?'_

...but nobody came.

Stressed out, you felt the magic of this universe surging through your bones, and clenching your bare hand caused a large statue in the distance to crumple quite severely... New magic bases were so difficult to learn, especially ones as powerful as this. You'd probably be better off restricting that part of yourself with a modified Seer's Seal Arcanagram, at least until you could learn to regulate it better naturally. The Lichborn that taught it to you was a very interesting lady... much respect to her.

With a plan of action formed, you pulled on your glove and replaced your hood atop your head, hiding your anxious features.

"you doing okay up there?"

The concerned query had you peering down at the native Sans, one of the sources of your current anxiety. He was staring at you with a neutral smile- the kind that was on his teeth when he wasn't controlling his expression- and looked like he was preparing for something... huh. Maybe he wasn't immune to the Mirror's magic as you'd suspected he'd be. Most Sanses have a natural resistance to memory tampering, what with their method of creation, but this universe was different in that regards.

With your train of thought successfully derailed from the tracks of eventual panic, you nodded to the Sans and began to look around at the environment. The crumpled statue was close by, past a few arches beyond the far end of the dining hall. When did you get in a dining hall? Perhaps they were going to have dinner with you.

"Yes, I'm alright. Might I inquire as to what is next on the agenda?"

You could really go for some whipped cream about now... wait, did they even have whipped cream here? This universe gave off a whole medieval sort of vibe, and come to think of it, you hadn't seen much technology at all...

**"We are going to have an audience with the King. For whatever reason, the Mirror has chosen to protect the recollection of your memories... Asgore is needed to verify that you are who you are."**

An official verification process, hmm? That seemed like it would've been the job of someone lower down in the hierarchy of these gods. Come to think of it, what were they the gods and goddesses of? You couldn't recall finding out, but asking now after supposedly recovering some memories would be too suspicious, so that was a mystery that would remain unsolved... unless you were careful.

"I see. Out of curiosity, why wouldn't you be able to do so?"

The sound of a piano playing in the distance grew gradually louder as you were carried down another long hallway, and the man who spoke in hands smiled slightly.

**"As sharp as ever, I see. While normally such intuitive matters as this would be under my jurisdiction, being the god of magic itself, the lack of information retained from within the room requires one of higher power to verify. I am strong, as you well know, but Asgore is still stronger. Ah, here we are."**

Turning into a room where the music was loudest, the god of magic was followed by your trusty steed of a skeleton and his brother, and the music came to a decadent close. There were the beings who'd been present before within this room, all of which you were well acquainted with through other universes. 

Undyne, tall and lean. She stood from her position at the piano and grinned at you- no, at Papyrus, the one carrying you- stretching out her noticeable muscles with the grace of experience.

Alphys, reserved and observant. The yellow reptile remained still in her corner of the room, her focus primarily upon Undyne and Gaster... was that a love triangle you detected? It was a common occurrence for the Alphys equivalents to be 'hot for teacher,' as some would put it these days.

Toriel, warm and inviting. Her large, fluffy figure was surrounded by the three children that'd been in the reception room earlier, the ones who enticed you into giving Death a hug... they looked pleased with themselves.

Lastly, Asgore himself, bulky and powerful. The way his eyes upon you made you feel smaller than you usually did, as though his gaze were a weight by itself, but you sat tall upon your perch. He would not make you back down so easily, even if his entire aura shifted tangibly with his attention... You had more determination than that.

Closing your eyesockets for a moment, you reached up to run a gloved hand over the fur lining of your hood, allowing your flame-like hair to flicker freely for a few seconds longer before smothering it in the security of hidden darkness. When you opened your sockets again, the atmosphere of the room had shifted- not in an angry way, but in a sad way... like they'd expected it. 

The King and his court recognized the significance of your action, and had accepted it instead of pushing against it. How very, very interesting...

"Hello. I am Arista. A pleasure to meet you all again."

As though the semi-honest greeting had been the last drop of water to press against a cracked dam, you were abruptly surrounded by joyous monsters who welcomed you back as though you were an old and good friend to each and every one of them... it was surreal. Was this be what it would be like when you finally returned to your home timeline? Was this what you were missing, all these past centuries of absence? Would your brothers greet you as enthusiastically when you finally returned to them?

All this joy and merriment, celebration of your presence with a wine glass pushed into your gloved hand...

...it filled you with GUILT.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the shortened chapter, I just got a change to my schedule. Updates might be slower than usual while I'm adjusting.
> 
> Shout out to Sophtopus, beautiful author right there.
> 
> ~~~
> 
> Time for another scenario!
> 
> You're walking in the woods. There's no-one around and your phone is dead. Out of the corner of your eye, you spot him...
> 
> Who do you see, and what is he doing?


	52. But Your Star Refused to Shine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You are questioned by Death itself, and reflect upon the darkness in your soul...  
> What a meaningful conversation!

Well.

Welly well well.

Well well welly well well.

In case you couldn't tell, that went exceedingly well.

Screaming? What screaming? Oh, the horrified screaming coming from the room behind you? Yeah, that was happening before you got there. Totally not your fault whatsoever. You absolutely did not break anything of importance.

Still.

"wow. i guess you really are arista. i had my doubts, but how would you be able to do that otherwise?"

The native Sans was following you, and it beginning to get annoying. It could be worse, however- he could be trying to actively stop your escape. No matter the reason for his MERCY, it was appreciated, and that was why you decided to answer his questions... along with a healthy dose of feeling like an imposter.

"I am Arista, but I am not _your_ Arista. I hypothesize that due to my residence in the Void, when other versions of myself are scattered or erased, the remaining fragments come together in me the same way they do so with Gaster. Acquiring new magic bases beyond the limits of one's own universe should be impossible- hence, something makes it possible. How else would I have been able to do... _that_ , when I am from a universe with an entirely different set of rules?"

You walked briskly down the hall of red and black and gold, your booted footsteps echoing down the empty corridor as the native skeleton floated along beside you, looking nothing less than amused. He kept occasionally poking you, seemingly fascinated by the immunity to his deadly touch that you'd inherited from this universe's alternate, and you'd accepted this. Trying to stop him only got a comment about how he was doing this for science and that it was very, very important to continue poking and prodding at you, just in case you do keel over and die one of these times.

"...huh. didn't think people from other universes could travel yet. makes sense that the ones that can would know of the void. what's it like for you?"

Passing through the shimmery silver cityscape of the godly realm, you scanned your surroundings for any ignorant monsters who would be trying to bring you back to the castle, continuing onwards after a short pause.

"Are you referring to how I perceive it now or how it was when I first entered it?"

Nobody stopped you. Granted, it was possible that you were overreacting from the guilt you were feeling, but that now-shattered object had seemed to be of some great significance. The expression that Asgore had worn, looking over it with _tears_ in his eyes as it slipped from your magic... well, you wouldn't grace it with a description. Especially after the useless impersonation you'd put up all this time.

"eh. why not both? i'm curious."

A smirk danced across your skull, and after reaching a fairly secluded spot in the area you assumed to be this universe's equivalent of Waterfall, sat upon a bench of stone to give Ink some time to find you.

"When I first entered the Void, it was colder than ice and quieter than a dead timeline. The absence of everything... it's about as pleasant as one would imagine when all one knows is a world of substance and mass. Needless to say, I nearly went mad. What stopped me was the amalgamation of Gaster- all the shattered pieces from all the erased Gaster equivalents of all the timelines he'd been erased in, combined into one base being."

You paused, and at the silent request to continue via a skeletal hand wave, resumed your answer. Sans had proven his knowledge of the Multiverse rather thoroughly, so you weren't that concerned about holding back. It seemed that the gods and goddesses here actually had Multiverse Mailboxes, whatever those were. Probably some form of Dimensional Boxes, heightened to a godly level. That made sense.

"His existence is far simpler than it sounds, but I digress. After he taught me what he knew of the place, I found it to be actually quite enjoyable, if not for the complete seclusion from all physical contact with civilization. Collecting enough material objects to build a home with solved that little problem, of course, so it's actually a lovely place to live in. A little lonely and strange, but I can leave and return to my soul's content. Hence, my taking up residence there."

The skeleton beside you looked over your cloaked form, hovering a few seconds longer before taking the open space on the bench beside you. The sight of his bare tarsals gave you the mischievous urge to see if the god of Death was ticklish... but you easily resisted, with the next question coming from his bone lips.

"is that why your soul is so dark? because you live in the void?"

You frowned, not moving otherwise so you wouldn't give away the fact that the question had unnerved you. It was true, your soul had gained a great deal of darkness swirling throughout its indigo light, and that was why you kept it hidden behind a veil of fully indigo light... Normally, those who tried to get past your inner barriers could only perceive the light, but it made sense that a being crafted from darkness would also see the darkness in others.

"That is... one reason. The Void, while I have found a relatively safe place to reside within it, has many darker depths where no living being should ever traverse. It just so happened that when I first arrived there, it was in one of those dangerous depths, amidst the deeper chaos that rivals the higher order of the universes. If it weren't for Gaster's knowledge of my arrival, I would've been entirely consumed. As it was, I didn't return unscathed, and that part of my memory is... blanked out."

Sans appeared fascinated, his gaze directed towards your ribcage, and he made a gesture as though to pull your soul out. That was where you drew the line, a scowl crossing your features for a split second as your soul _refused_ , and he had the good sense to withdraw a safe distance away before speaking again.

"light can't exist without darkness as its background. it only makes sense that there are souls with darkness within them. but, i'm curious..."

He leaned in again, his expression more amusement than anything else.

"...if it bothers you, why are you so open about it? do you hate yourself that much?"

You had no response to that, at first, but were able to formulate a reply before the silence dragged on long enough to be taken as an answer.

"No... I don't hate myself. I do have my regrets, but what creature of sentience doesn't? As to being open about myself, I've come to the conclusion that there isn't really a point to avoid doing so- it'll either be erased by RESETs, or I'll have someone who remembers me. Both outcomes are less than harmful."

The expression on Death's face turned into a darker form of amusement, a genuine curiosity shining in his eyelights as he asked the question that was normally posed by the Flowey equivalents of neutral or peaceful universes.

"heh... but what if you meet a relentless killer? you tell them all about yourself, you'll probably end up dead. i thought you had something to live for?"

How very interesting... 

"I have already met a relentless killer, and I have already died before. Certainly, you being the god of death, understand that nothing truly dies... Such a thing is a violation of universal laws. You discovered this with the death of Life, so why would you ask a question you already know the answer to?"

A rustling from behind some nearby boulders had you scanning the area again, and a hesitant pulse of magic from said rock formation had your permanent smile widening happily.

"Ah, terribly sorry to cut this little session short, but I'll visit you again sometime. Especially since this universe doesn't seem to have RESETs in the same manner that others do. Tell the children that I said farewell for now."

A bare, bony hand grasped the sleeve of your cloak as you made to leave, and you turned to glance over the native skeleton with some curiosity as to what he was going to say.

"...come back soon, 'kay?"

It seemed as though he was going to say something else, but changed his mind. No matter, you had learned quite a bit already, and this self-censoring of his took up less of your time. Respect, respect.

"I'll do my best. Farewell!"

With that, you turned and sauntered off behind the boulders nearby, ready to leave behind this universe... what was it called? Ah, Reapertale. Quite fascinating, really- the creativity of whomever is in charge of this Multiverse is quite expansive. No wonder Ink was so powerful.

"Arista! Did you have fun!? I have a surprise for you!"

As he led you through a portal of perseverance-purple paint, you tried to tell him about the pouch you had been given the duty of delivering to his care, but the sight on the other side of the portal had your sentences cut short. Standing there, in new clothes- no, just newly colored clothes- was your first companion.

"Note!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Blur is listening to some of you shoulder devils, I hope you enjoy finding out what he's done in the upcoming chapters xD
> 
> Vote time! And it's not blind again, yay!
> 
> Within the Void and on to further adventure, someone needs to stay and someone needs to go.  
> Note or Blur, who will stay and who will go?


	53. In-troducing the Old and the New

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Note's alive! Time for him to meet Blur =)

It was settled. You were hereby keeping Note within reach for the next while, in the least oppressive manner possible, meaning that you were going to stay within ten feet of him. No more, because you weren't quite ready for that, and not much less because hovering closer would get uncomfortable for him after a while. There was a benefit to the separation, however...

Ink had been able to help him _see_.

Granted, he could only reliably see magic and souls, but with magic existing everywhere, it was just as good. You already knew that the glass lenses imbued with your illusion magic had fused to his skull and filled in the cracks, but upon mixing with his own magic, he'd begun to notice strange glows and wisps of things in his vision. Of course, alongside your within-ten-foot hovering, you were going to be keeping some notes on Note's progress... haha.

"-so that's how an UnderFell Papyrus fell in love with an OuterTale Mettaton, but then his own Mettaton showed up and challenged their alternate to a battle-"

Speaking of Ink, he'd been telling a story that whole time, hadn't he? That was rather rude of you, tuning him out in favor of contemplating obscure plot devices and red herrings when you could just do so at any other time. You felt the need to apologize immediately, and get on with things.

"Ah, my apologies for interrupting Ink, but I have something for you from Dream?"

The colorful skeleton paused for a moment, then turned away to vomit up a stream of black ink. How disgusting... and fascinating. You opened a hole to the Void to store the vomited ink in an empty fish tank you had lying around somewhere, for the sake of future study.

Ink's expression was nothing short of excitement as he made grabby-hands towards you, completely forgetting about the story he'd been telling. Amused, you reached into your cloak and removed the odd pouch with the four-pointed star within it, and held it out to him. In doing so, you watched as his expression turned from excitement to confusion, as he inspected the pouch and its contents... Your amusement faded as the delivery was carefully tossed back in your direction, and the mood plummeted with the expression of sheer discomfort upon the colorful skeleton's face.

"Arista... keep taking care of that for a while. It's... I can't do anything right now. I can't interfere. Just... look for a Pluris named Omni, and keep that in a lot of water-based ink, if you want to help. Not ink mixed with water, water-based ink. That's all I can say."

...you had no idea what exactly a Pluris was, but assumed that it was some type of monster subspecies, for the sake of simplicity. Hopefully you'd be able to find them in enough time to help- nobody had mentioned a time limit, which usually meant that the time was 'already too late,' but you were optimistic. Gaster should know. He knew practically everything, what with being the conscious combination of his multiple selves, and his creation of the windows.

"ink... is there anything _else_ she should know?"

The other skeleton present spoke- other being not Ink, Note, or yourself- drawing your attention to him. He was an apparent survivor of the attack back in Aftertale, but you secretly believed that Ink just grabbed him from an alternate timeline where he actually did survive... A ridiculous theory, you knew, but it was the way you'd chosen to distance yourself from him. You didn't want to risk getting close to anyone else until you had your current group settled into a solid base, and that meant that Note and Blur would need to meet.

This was very awkward for you. You wanted to bring him in, but he had a universe to go back to, and Ink was his ticket back to Aftertale. So once this little meeting was over, he'd go back to being susceptible to RESETs, and would probably forget about you... so yeah, but no. Hip-Hop would be kept at a safe distance, unless he ended up in some sort of catastrophic situation that dumped him into the Void. No matter how enjoyable his company was.

"Maybe, but I can't interfere! Anyways, I'm sure that she has places to go, so let's just get you back to Aftertale! Arista, see you sometime later! Remember to have fun!"

Ink grasped Hip-Hop by the hoodie and jumped into a puddle of purplish-blue paint, leaving Note and yourself behind with a sudden silence to keep you company...

...that was awkward.

Turning to Note, you held out your gloved hand, giving him the option to take hold of it. This gave the illusion of him having more freedom than he actually had, what with your firm plan to hover within ten feet of him for a while, and you didn't really want to make him too uncomfortable before introducing him to Blur.

"Well, dear Note, I have someone I'd like you to meet- he helped me escape from the Anti-Void after I was brought there by Error and Fresh. His name is Blur, and he's a version of an UnderSwap Sans."

Your companion accepted your hand, a look of quiet amusement over his skull as he gestured towards the pile of recently-acquired objects nearby.

"...so those are for us and any other strays you pick up, i'm guessing."

Placing your hand over your sternum playfully, you sent the various objects into the Void and prepared to open a shortcut. A tightly wound energy sphere formed at your eye-level, the height of Note's clavicle, and a needlepoint of energy was prepared to pierce through.

"You speak as though you believe I'll be picking up more skeletons in the near future. Did gaining magic soul sight give you future vision as well?"

The energy sphere was pierced, and the two of you were _pulled_ into the Void, landing on the other side with some mixture of grace and clumsiness. Beings who were unaccustomed to shortcuts often landed badly without someone to help them remain upright, and it seemed that Note hadn't changed in this regard, despite his time spent with Ink and Hip-Hop.

"...heh."

You turned to Note, fully intending on making him answer with more than a chuckle, but then Blur ran in from nowhere and tackled you. It was entirely unexpected- you thought he'd still be asleep!- but evidently not. Nope, no more sleep for the little ball of energy.

"A͠R͘IS͠T͞A,̴ YOU'RE BAC̶K!̕ AŅD̶ ͠Y͟O̕U BROUG͟HT̵ A̸ FRIE͘ND͠!͝ ̢I̢'͢M ͞THE͞ ͡MA͞GN͠IF̴IC̡ENT ͘BLUR, W͠H̴O̶'R̴E ͜Y̡O͏U!?"

He'd moved quickly, hugging you before jumping up and introducing himself to Note. The sight was almost too adorable to handle.

"uh... 'm note... nice to meet you..."

Hmm... it seems like Note has gotten a bit more talkative. Hopefully Blur wouldn't tire him out too quickly.

"I͏T'S A͟ ̴PL͢EAS̶U͞RE͡ TO ̶MEE̢T͟ ͢YO͝U̧ NO̵TE! WE͠L̡CO̴ME҉ T̕O T͡HE VOI̕D͜! AL̢SǪ,͠ ̢A͟RE Y͡OU͠ ͞ǪK̶AY?̕ T͏H̵OSE͡ CRAC̢KS̛ ̕LOOK ̧P̡A̴I̢N͏FU̷L̨."

Well, those two were getting along nicely. While they were distracted by introductions, you should set up their rooms. The blanketed boxes you had set up as walls were easily moveable, after all- adding on two new bedrooms would be easy.

"I'll return shortly dears, feel free to watch some movies or have some food while I create some bedrooms for the two of you."

With that, you turned to the wall beside your own bedroom, and raised your magic-charged hand to begin. Of course, you needed snacks to do so, and with a wave of your other hand, the fridge door swung open to reveal... emptiness.

"...BLUR, WHERE DID ALL THE WHIPPED CREAM GO?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this story's update schedule is prolly gonna change to a weekly update, though I'll keep trying to update sooner.
> 
> ~~~
> 
> Dangit Blur, you used all of our whipped cream! Now we've gotta decide if you should be punished or not!
> 
> And if so, what sort of punishment should he get?


	54. Science and Magic Collide... Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your companions learn a new language, and the four-pronged star soul can finally communicate! Yay! Accomplishments all around!

"okay. so we need to find a pluris named omni... what's a pluris?"

You cheerfully shrugged at the question from your companion, your eyelights focused on the rapidly blinking four-pronged star within your hands. Ever since Omni had been mentioned, it seemed to have been trying to get attention... This further cemented your theory that the star- no, the soul- was in fact, sentient and aware of its surroundings in some regard.

"I have no idea, but this one seems to know. Given that they're only communicating through flashing, I'd guess that's their only way to communicate at this time... Time to teach them some Morse code!"

Blur leaned forward with intense curiosity within his eyelights as he regarded the star-shaped soul, bringing a blue-gloved phalanx up to touch its surprisingly hard surface.

"WH̵AT'̷S̶ M̕O҉RS͠E C̶OD̸E?"

You carefully handed the yellow soul over to Blur along with the pouch, and stood up to begin searching through some nearby bookshelves for a wilderness survival guide for the sake of visual reference. As you did so, you answered the question of your unusually calm companion, tapping your phalanges along the bookshelf as you did so.

"Morse code is a human language that converts letters and numbers of the English alphabet into dots and dashes by a series of on-off clicks and flashes of light. It was originally created for the telegraph system, which is the first long distance communication in the likes of phones. Compared to voice, Morse code is less sensitive to poor signal conditions, yet still comprehensible to humans without a decoding device. This is why most humans recognize the signal that is three dots, three dashes, and three dots."

As your phalanges ran across the surface of the bookshelf, you demonstrated the signal mentioned, repeating it until you found the survival guide. Bringing the book over to the other two, you flipped through the pages until you reached the one with Morse code section.

"See? The signal stands for SOS, which is an abbreviation for 'save our souls'. I find it interesting that humans developed this phrase without the influence of monsterkind, given that most universes had humans losing their magic and thus unable to actually see their souls. Anyways, let's see about teaching our little star soul here how to use it..."

* * *

* * *

From what you could guess in this timeless place, it took a few hours for the star soul to learn the language. Blur, surprisingly, learned it within half an hour, demonstrating the brain power of a Sans with the unique point of view of a Papyrus equivalent... application and belief. It took Note the longest to learn, considering that he couldn't see the pages due to their non-magical nature, but putting up an illusion of the key for him helped immensely. Of course, you already knew the code, so soon everyone was communicating nicely.

The star soul's name was Paperjam, and they were a bit of a jerk. Mostly silent, with a few snarky or sarcastic comments thrown in here and there, and yet seemingly very innocent to the ways of the Multiverse. This came as a surprise to you, given that they claimed to travel the universes through cracks between the Anti-Void and the universes themselves, but you supposed that upbringing had something to do with it... they hadn't grown up in a universe like you had.

"So, Paperjam, why don't you want to see Omni?"

That was something confusing you. They'd claimed Omni was their girlfriend- heh, cute- but didn't want to see her... Were they ashamed or something?

**"Stupid, I just don't want to worry her. Showing up like this would do that. Just store me in some water-based ink for a few years and I'll have my body back."**

Ah, that innocence, especially coming from a tsundere... it made you want to adopt them. 

Your energy fluctuated slightly.

"arista, whatever you're thinking, it'll probably end badly."

Note understood your hesitation. He'd had a long life of being careful thus far, and hanging out with Ink had probably given him some good ideas when it comes to the Multiverse... like ideas on what to avoid.

"IT ̷C̨OULD END BA̷DL͜Y,̸ BUT TH͞ER̶E̷'͡S̨ ̶AN ͢ĘQ̛U͞AL̕ CHANCE̸ T̴H̸A͘T͠ I̵T͜ W̕ON'T̢! ̡UM,͟ ̷W̡H̸AT'̛R̷E ͜WE ͜TA͢LK̵ING̸ ҉A͝BOUT͢ TH͝OUGH?"

Blur understood your optimistic outlook. He'd been under constant intense stress with Error nearby, and then gone ever-so-slightly insane enough to hear random voices in his head, yet he still retained his belief in others. Something he'd said while conversing with Note had stuck out to you-

_"B͜U͡T̸ T̛O ̸B͏E ͘T̵R͡UTHFƯL?̵ I WAS͜ ͠P͟L͠A͏N̛N͟I̶N͟G TO ̕CO̧ME B͟ACK ̛F̷OR̸ H͜IM, ͞O̶NCE ͘I̡ FOUN͜Ḑ HELP.̵ ̨AR̵I͜S͏TA̸ ͠C͘A͜N H͜EL͡P H͡I̷M̷, ͘I HA̷VȨ NO̸ ̢D͏OUBT̡ ̸AB̵O͢UT͡ ͏IT̴.҉ Į ͝JUS͝T͢ ̛NEED T͟O C҉O͜NV̸INC̡E HE͝R͝.͡.̨."_

You didn't know who he was referring to, as he hadn't yet tried to ask you for help, but you could wait. For now, you needed to get back to the matter at hand... Paperjam's multiversal innocence.

"Haha, it's nothing. Just an errant thought that decided to bounce around my skull. Anyways, Paperjam, time works very strangely when going between universes and timeless dimensions such as this and the Anti-Void. There is no natural progression of the fourth dimension unless one is present within a universe, or is powerful enough to will it into being."

At the questioning looks upon the faces of your companions, you realized that they hadn't had this explained to them yet, and immediately manifested an illusive ribbon to demonstrate.

"For example, moving magic energy within the Void is a way of willing the fourth dimension into being, if only for a moment. In a universe, energy is constantly in motion, but here in the Void, it is naturally frozen in time. Moving it here is a way of forcing it to experience its personal timeline- its fourth dimension- and when one ceases its motion, it returns to its natural frozen state."

The energy ribbon was re-absorbed, the magic returning to your stores of energy.

"This follows the Law of Conservation of Energy, which states that the total energy of an isolated system remains constant- energy can neither be created nor destroyed; rather, it transforms from one form to another. Each universe in and of itself is an isolated system within the Multiverse, and this is true for the Void as well. For example, an injured person brought here would retain their injury due to the timeless nature of this place, but mending a wound through healing magic both transforms the energy and forces the progression of the wound's timeline. Overall, no energy is lost within the system."

You'd settled into your science mode again- lecturer style. Hopefully these three liked learning, because if they didn't, they were going to be sitting through a lot of information thrown their way... but you just couldn't help yourself! They were so innocent to the Multiverse, it just made you want to teach them everything they needed and wanted to know! Maybe that's why you were a sucker for children... stars darn it.

"...when you healed me, you got tired afterwards, and recovered your energy... losing the energy through healing makes sense, but how did you recover it if you were unconscious? shouldn't you have been unconscious forever, due to the void being timeless and you being without anything to force a recovery?"

Your permanent smile widened at the questions, but internally, you were slightly panicked amidst the pride. Note was more observant than you gave him credit for- it would be in your best interest to avoid underestimating him again. This mistake meant that you had to reveal some knowledge that could be harmful to the three boys present, assuming they wanted to stay with you when everything was settled... well, it would've happened eventually.

"I may be the only being you've seen in this dimension thus far, but I am not the only one here... The Void is infinite, and just as there are infinite timelines and universes within the Multiverse, there are an infinite amount of beings who have made their homes here, just as I have. So far, I've encountered more dangerous beings than friendly beings by a ratio of eight thousand, seven hundred and fifty two to one... not including the natural inhabitants."

Blur raised his hand as though he were a student in a classroom, and you smiled slightly at the sight of it before gesturing for him to speak.

"IF ̨IT'S̷ AL͘R̸EADY ͜T̷ḨAT ̸DAN̶G̷EROU͘S ͝W̢I̴TH̡O̡UT̕ ̵CO҉UN͢T͠IN͢G̸ ͘TH͠E NAT̨UR͏AL INH̨AB͟I̛TANTS..."

He paused, an expression of sheer concern upon his skull.

"H҉OW͏ M̷ŲCH͡ ̷M͠O͏RE ͟DANG͠ERO̧U͟S͏ ͞C̕AN ͟I͘T ̵GET?"

These two were bringing out the tough questions today, weren't they? Well, you wouldn't lie to them, but you'd be quick to reassure them of their overall safety.

"Remember what I said about the Void being infinite like the Multiverse? Just as there are infinite dangers outside of this place, there are infinite dangers within as well. Fortunately, I have learned these dangers quick enough to avoid properly dying, and you needn't worry about your safety as long as you're here with me. My home is protected by one of the friendly beings I've met, as is a vast area around it, but wandering off without a guide here is essentially as good as asking to meet a fate worse than death... so don't do it."

This was a fun conversation that you'd rather not be having. In fact, you wanted some whipped cream now to recover from it, but _somebody_ ate it all... a trip to a universe would be required soon.

"Anyways, back to the original topic. Paperjam, you want to restore your body through being submerged in water-based ink for a few years. This being a timeless place, such a process would take literally forever to naturally occur. You would need to consciously direct your energy to permeate the ink, and doing so, you would eventually run out of energy without any way to restore it... without outside help. Leaving you alone in a universe would subject you to RESETs, and according to one of my friends here and his observations of such occurrences, you would essentially be deleted from the universe."

You stood up to your full height, placing your gloved hands up on your hips in a DETERMINED manner... your energy fluctuated slightly.

"Thus, I have decided to help you. It will take a long time- probably less than the few years you've projected, fortunately- and as such, I refuse to leave you alone all that time. You shall remain here most of the time, but someone will be here to keep you company. Is that acceptable?"

Paperjam seemed to be unsure of how to deal with someone taking care of him the way you were... His soul was brightening up and dimming down in a constant manner, not flickering in the Morse code that'd been taught to him, but following his emotions. It seemed as though he were arguing with himself, but you stayed firmly DETERMINED, and soon enough, he came to a conclusion.

**"Fine. Only because I can't do anything to stop you."**

Ah, your patience rewards you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mmmmm I've been writing up records and creating a tumblr for UnderVoidable xD so many stuffs to write about lmao


	55. And Much Bullshittery Ensued

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You contemplate reality, and Note finds out that Horrortale Sans is a creep.

"Alright, have fun hanging out with Paperjam! Be sure to practice your shortcuts, and stay within sight of the house. We'll be back soon!"

Something about these new companions of yours made things seem almost... domestic, in a way. Not quite a description that you'd use for the Void, but with your unusual home and the addition of friendly guests that you seriously considered adopting... Well, you were beginning to think of it as a true home rather than just a place to stay.

"DON'͟T ͞W̶ORŖY͠ A̵BO̵U̡T ͏US, ̴A͟RISTA. W͜E'LL B̕E ̶MAG͘NIF͟IC͡ENT!"

You smiled at Blur's enthusiasm, and sent a final wave of farewell to him before turning to your first companion. Note appeared slightly nervous for some reason as you took hold of his arm, his sockets glowing dim- that was a new difference between other skeletons and himself. Instead of eyelights, the glass that sealed the cracks in his skull glowed entirely- the full pattern of the cracks lit up when he was using his sight.

"Are you ready?"

He nodded, the nervousness going away, leaving behind a mystery as to what had caused it. Oh well, another thing lost to the Multiverse... Nothing much to do about it but move forward, so move forward you did, leading your companion through a swift shortcut. The pressure of the shortcut seemed to make his sockets flicker, but he didn't seem affected otherwise, so you resolved to simply keep an eyesocket on him as you were already doing.

The two of you landed in a forest, the trees and snow darkened by decay and bodily human fluids. There were some rusted and stained traps nearby, giving off the scent of fear and the atmosphere of something terrible having occurred... you could tell what universe this was. Could Note?

"...what... what happened here?"

He couldn't. Had you forgotten to teach him how to inspect universes, or was it just that he hadn't been to this universe before? Both were viable possibilities.

"Step one of entering a foreign universe: check the environment. This is the first clue as to what universe you've landed in, and the bloodstained traps are a very strong indication that this universe is a derivative of the Horrortale universe. The lack of dust implies that it isn't a Fell universe, so this is most likely a Classic or Swap variant. In order to determine whether it is either or neither, it is time to check the monsters within the environment. So, stay close to me... this is a dangerous place."

Note took your words to heart, unnerved by the eerie silence in the air, and placed a hand on your shoulder as he had done in Mobtale. The difference, however, was that this time it was more for comfort than guidance... He could hear snow crunching in the distance, starting and stopping just out of his new range of magic sight.

The two of you walked for some time, careful to avoid various traps and puzzles that'd been intended for- and had successfully captured- fallen humans. It was slow going- particularly since the traps, while more hastily arranged, were dangerous enough that setting them off even incorrectly could kill you- and you didn't want to find out whether Note could survive death the same way you could. The probability was too great that he couldn't, after all. Different circumstances, different origins, different universal equivalents.

His life was more important than your curiosity. Living for such a long time, categorizing the universes in the way you had- that'd made things seem much less real to you. Your travels through the Multiverse had made things predictable, and while you didn't quite have the ability to control time the same way the human did, you were able to understand how they came to view the lives of those in the Underground as characters in their own little game. Things becoming predictable caused repeated actions to become boring, and once all options had been exhausted, the memories and timelines themselves stagnated...

You couldn't allow yourself to fall stagnant. These beings were real people with real lives, no matter how many times you saw them, and how many identical memories were formed. Even if they were the same, they were still real, and that was part of the reason why you clung to new things, such as Note. 

New things distracted you from the same old scenarios, yes, but they also reminded you that the people you met and the life you led were real. They helped you affirm the fact that you were real, just by existing somewhere, even if by simple writing on a page. That was the entire premise of the Multiverse, after all- if you could think of it, it existed somewhere, no matter how horrible or beautiful it was.

You liked to think that you were amongst the more balanced lives, so far. Perhaps an unreasonable amount of horrible events had occurred, but things tended to get worse before they could get better. Note and Blur were examples of things getting better- after so long of being alone, you now had company. Things were getting better, and you would do your best to keep them better- not only for your sake, but theirs as well. You'd always done a more efficient job at helping others than helping yourself, anyways.

"arista... there's someone following us..."

The whisper from your companion brought you out of your thoughts, and you hummed in acknowledgement of his statement. Casually, as though inspecting various blood stains upon the traps and ground, you scanned the environment...

"That isn't an unusual event to take place in more violent universes such as this. Fortunately, the monsters here primarily focus upon humans as prey, usually only dusting other monsters if completely desperate... Unfortunately, the beings of this universe are more often desperate than not. As such, the being following us is probably looking for a meal. We're relatively small compared to most monsters of this universe, of course, so we won't seem that appealing other than as a light snack."

Note shuddered at the casual tone within your voice as you spoke, his eyesockets burning a little brighter as he pushed his sight out farther. Not that he didn't trust you- obviously you had more experience with traveling universes- but it made him feel a little better to know where their stalker was. Unfortunately, the size and shape of their stalker removed that better feeling.

"...the one following us... i think it's this universe's version of me..."

You stopped abruptly, and Note bumped into your back, not expecting the action. He jumped slightly, visibly on edge as you turned and stared directly towards the stalking monster, and waved a gloved hand in... a hello? 

Well, the friendly gesture seemed to throw off the hunting skeleton as well, as he froze in place for a few moments before waving back... nice. Now he was approaching, and your companion wasn't really a fan of the size difference between them... Note and yourself were practically two thirds the size of this native monster, maybe even a mere half of the size.

"heh, you two are tiny little morsels to be wandering around this late. didn't your parents ever tell you kiddos not to leave the house at night?"

The slow, yet scratchy voice reminded you of an UnderFell Papyrus whispering, and you giggled slightly in response to the question, turning on the cuteness. Horrortale monsters were much closer to their base instincts than their Classic universe counterparts, and you knew that the oversized monsters of this universe were usually lenient and even protective of cute things... haha.

"Yes sir, but I wanted to show my friend which traps that the cool royal guard skeleton set up! He didn't believe me when I said they were the best designed for human hunting!"

The slightly higher pitch to your voice gave you the childlike squeak of an eight year old... you had _way_ too much experience pretending to be a child.

"...uh, yeah... i've seen them now though... they look pretty effective..."

Note didn't have such experience, but he tried his best. Unfortunately, his voice wasn't very childlike, and it somewhat threw off the effect he was going for. Oh well, you could protect him while he gained the experience of such things. Skeletons tended to learn things quickly, anyways.

"heh. you sound almost like me... anyways, let's go about getting you two kids back to my house. it's not safe out at night, and i'm sure your mommies and daddies will want to see you safely returned in the morning."

Yep, skeletons learned things quickly. It seemed like Horrortale Sans had already caught on- yet, he was playing along in a very patronizing way. What timeline was this, then, that he wouldn't attack immediately? The Alpha Timeline of this universe, before it's completion, perhaps? How very interesting...

However, this wasn't why the two of you were here. You were here to get some water-based ink for Paperjam, and to attempt locating either his Pluris girlfriend or a multiversal traveler who could point you in her direction. And maybe get your gloved hands on some whipped cream. If that couldn't be done here, it would have to be done elsewhere... and it didn't seem like any of those things could be done here.

"Terribly sorry sir, but our homes are probably closer by than your home is. Note, do you wish to go?"

A polite refusal... nice. Unfortunately, politeness didn't get you far, as the native Sans had chosen to rest his weapon (a large, ax-like femur) over his shoulder with one hand and use his other hand to ruffle your hood with some intended-to-be threatening strength...

"oh, i insist. come on kids, you've gotten this far towards through the woods already. no sense in going back now."

The skeleton with the blown-up red eyelight and gruesomely cracked skull didn't release you, keeping a grip on your hood as he started off towards the town. 

With a shrug, you decided to go along with it, and tapped a quick pattern to tell Note that the two of you would be staying here for a little while. He didn't seem very happy about it... but he needed the experience of such places if he was going to stay with you. Keeping him in the Void forever was not an option.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _A familiar skeleton stood before the end notes section, a disgruntled expression upon his glitched skull. He reached forward to adjust the angle of this window he'd created, turning it the slightest bit so it_ was no longer slanted to the side in italics.
> 
> ".̷̶..̡͠h͝e̶͝y͜. ̶̧vo͝i̵̷̧ce̷͏͏s͠.̴̴̢ i.̧͠͠..̴̵͡ ̕͢n̴̢e̵̕e͢͠d̕ s҉o̕͡me̸̴ ̴̕h̶elp͞҉."
> 
> He glared to the side, displeased with himself, and his gaze landed upon a greyish chestplate. It was the reason he was asking for help in the first place... Fucking great, like he needed a reminder.
> 
> "s̵̡o̢. u͡͠h.̸ ͢b͠l҉u̧͏eb̷̷̛e̢rry.̛ ̧͞you k̡͡n͡ow̢̛ ͟wh̛͡ęr̢e͠ ͏̵h͘̕̕e i̧̛͘s,͘ ̷̨͏p̵r̵o̷͜͝ba̢͢b̡͝l̸y,͝ ̕͜a̕n̶d͡͡҉ ̴͢i͜.̧..̕͡ ̶̨͞w̕ąn̷̕͏t ̸̨h̸i҉͡m͠͠͞ ͘͏b̶a͡c͏k̸͏͘.̧"
> 
> The chestplate was picked up by a few strings, brought to dangle at eye level. It hummed with a strange energy.
> 
> "h͟e͝͞'͞s̵̛͘ ̷͢͡wit̸h̴̵͞ t̸̡ha̴t ̢f͜ȩ҉ma̶l̶e ske͘ļ̷͢e̢͘ton ҉͘i̛ b͝r̨̛ơ̧͝u̡͠g͟h̷t͘ ̡h҉e̛͟r͜ȩ̨, ̶̧i҉s͞n̢̕'̸̛͢t̢ h̶͘̕e͟?̷̕"
> 
> After looking over the chestplate for a few moments longer, Error left it to hang in place, turning to face the readers with a wider grin than usual. This grin was... surprisingly empty.
> 
> "s͝o̧͜.̢̨̧.̕.̴͞ ̵͜h̛o̸҉̕w̷̕ ̢̧̨d̡̨̨o ̸̕į ̸ge̷̕t̢ ̶̛p̢͟a͏s̢̨t͢͝ ͘he̵͡r҉͢?̛͜"


	56. In Pleasantly Painful Conversation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Escaping the Horrortale bros, you and Note discuss the nature of the Multiverse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You're gonna hate me for the end notes. I just know it. XD

"heh, you two look like you need some meat on your bones. don't worry, my bro's cooking is the best for cute little tykes like you. nice and full of healthy ingredients..."

The native Sans, after effectively kidnapping you and your companion back to his house, had sat the two of you down at the table along with the human of this universe- Aliza. Such a timid little thing, but apparently very loved by the two skeletons that lived here, if the soft way that Sans watched her was any indication. It made you curious about how long she'd been here, but asking that would be rude before being officially introduced... which you hadn't been yet.

That would have to be remedied immediately.

"Hello, I am Arista. This is my friend Note. What's your name?"

You asked her name both to be polite, as you already knew what it was, but also because people often reacted negatively to your having knowledge that you shouldn't.

"...Aliza..."

Quiet. Very softspoken, indeed. This seemed to be a minor variant timeline of the Horrortale universe, what with her seeming residence with the skeleton brothers.

"A pleasure."

Your right hand was held out to the human of this universe, the glove shimmering softly in the light. Thanks to what your ReaperTale counterpart had done to your outfit, it was no longer white, but instead an oddly affected indigo that revealed streaks of various soul colors in certain lighting. This interesting color scheme was present elsewhere along your outfit, having replaced all the white, and it seemed to catch the human's eye.

She took your hand and shook it gently, a soft smile on her face as she watched the colors shift in the light. Then, a moment later, she reached over with her other hand to try removing the glove... Naturally, you didn't allow this, withdrawing your hand in a casual movement. That was your handplate hand.

"So, now that introductions are over, might I inquire-"

The sound of glass shattering nearby had the attention of everyone within the room. Fortunately, or unfortunately, it was just Papyrus making a dramatic entrance through the window. Doors are for jokes, windows are for breaking. Who are you to question basic skeleton logic?

Hmm... this Papyrus had some chompers, now didn't he?

"SANS, YOU DIDN'T TELL ME WE WERE HAVING GUESTS OVER! I DON'T HAVE ANY OF MY SPECIAL SPAGHETTI READY, ONLY REGULAR SPAGHETTI!"

You'd encountered his 'special spaghetti' before, and had the unfortunate pleasure of eating it before you knew what was in it... that was an event you had no desire to repeat. Food made of sentient beings- such as humans or monsters- may have been an enjoyable thing for some people, but you preferred to stick with the non-sentient food, such as hot dogs and whipped cream.

...what had Blur even done with all of that stocked up whipped cream?

"heh, sorry bro. but hey, we decided not to have the special spaghetti while the kid was here, remember? she's allergic to human."

Hearing a slightly choked noise from the side, you glanced over at Note, taking in the horrified expression upon his face. It seemed like he had learned a new thing, and found it to be rather unpleasant. 

Welp, that's Horrortale for you, being horrifying as usual.

You decided to take MERCY upon your companion and speak up.

"Excuse me, Papyrus sir, but my friend and I are also allergic to human. So don't feel bad about not preparing special spaghetti- instead, think about what you saved by not wasting it on us!"

The native Sans sent a sharp glance over your way, and you took notice of Aliza's fearful glance... How very interesting. Perhaps she hadn't settled in quite yet, after all.

"...YOU'RE RIGHT, STRANGE CHILD! SOMEBODY ELSE SHALL ENJOY MY CULINARY PROWESS INSTEAD!"

Whether by good fortune or universal design, this Papyrus was fairly easy to handle if one knew their way around dangerous creatures. He was innocent, and seemingly a good deal less intelligent than his Classic Papyrus counterpart, but he could still be distracted and diverted with basic logic. The Sans of this universe was similar, due to the massive hole in his skull that hadn't been able to heal, but he was still quite astute at reading expressions despite his drop in IQ.  
Poor dears. You were glad that this wasn't your home universe.

"your friend is pretty quiet, eh?"

Note kept his attention on the table, his sockets glowing the lowest they could without going out. He didn't really seem comfortable in this situation, and you probably could've done a better job of explaining exactly what dangers a Horror variant would pose, so it was only natural that you felt a slight guilt upon looking him over... You should probably get him out of here soon.

"Indeed, he is. It is late after all, and we should be getting home. Papyrus, could we have some spaghetti to bring home? It'd be an honor to have the food of a legendary royal guardsman to share with our families."

Sans equivalents usually didn't do shit if their brothers wanted something, and you knew how to manipulate most beings within the Multiverse due to your long existence, as bad as that sounded. You didn't like to do so often, which is why you lazily went along with most situations you found yourself in, but now that you had people to protect, you'd have to be more proactive. Of course, you'd still try to avoid being manipulative as much as you could, because you didn't like being reminded of the unusual confines that made those within the Multiverse seem like they were all mere characters in a game or something...

"heh heh, thought you two would be staying here for a sleep over?"

Taking the opportunity, you stood up and took hold of Note's arm in one fluid movement, tilting your cloaked skull in the direction of the two native skeletons and one native human.

"While it would be an enjoyable experience, perhaps another time. We've got places to go, and unfortunately, we cannot stay in your company for much longer. Thank you for the offer, though."

Aliza looked like she wanted to run over and cling on to your cloak, something that you almost expected her to do. In a past visit to the Horrortale universe, you'd discovered that she had something called 'monophobia,' which is the fear of being alone. Signs of abandonment from people she cared about made her upset, and it would be best to leave before she could develop a proper emotional attachment. For once, it seemed that Sans was on the same page, as he watched the girl and didn't react to your statements but to wave you off... nice!

Leading Note to the door, you acquired a tupperware container of spaghetti from the native Papyrus and said a quick farewell, before finally making a somewhat hasty exit. Onwards to Waterfall you led your companion, walking and listening for a short while, until he spoke up.

"...these monsters eat humans... why...?"

Glancing about to make sure that no native monsters were within earshot, you led Note across some shallow pools of water, using the splashes to further disguise your voice. Things really tended to echo in Waterfall.

"The timelines of this universe are actually branched off from a Pacifist Neutral Timeline of the Original Universe. This means that the eighth human child, Frisk, went through the Underground and killed one monster in particular, in order to return to the Surface. They never returned, and the Underground was left to rot in confusion and disarray, as Undyne took the throne in Asgore's place. Unfortunately, the combined hits of a food shortage and overpopulation made things worse and worse, and the monsters began to eat fallen humans in the throes of desperation and despair..."

You glanced over at your companion, and took note- haha- of the upset expression upon his skull. This was a necessary lesson, of course, one that was important to the Horror variants.

"This is why the Barrier here still isn't broken- they've been eating fallen humans instead of collecting the souls necessary. If edible vegetation could've been grown properly down here, then the food shortage wouldn't have been that big of a deal, and it probably would've been the loss of HoPe that afflicted monsters instead."

Note was quiet for some time, thinking about the situation of this universe and how matter-of-fact you explained it. As the footsteps of his and yours echoed through the relatively empty caverns, he observed the calm aura around your soul, slight concern welling up within his own. 

How long had it taken for you to become so... so _dismissive_ about the suffering of this universe? What sort of mental state were you in? He could tell that you were a good person despite your LV, in the way you acted and the words you said while with him and with others... So how were you so cold to universes like this one, where everyone was suffering, and you could help them?

"...why don't you try to help them?"

Your gait faltered slightly, and your grin sharpened a little. That question was a difficult one to hear, despite having been expecting it eventually.

"Well... I can't help, not really. Not while the Multiverse is stuck in this incessant loop of creation and destruction. Messing with time the way DETERMINATION is able to... it's not a good thing."

The two of you arrived in the dump, and you checked to make certain nobody was around, before stepping away from Note to search through the piles for any useful supplies. As you did so, you continued your answer, your voice somewhat quieter than it was before.

"I'll explain it in a way that's been used many times before, for the sake of simplicity. It is inaccurate in the overall scheme of things, but it works well enough for beginners."

Note nodded, and you prepared yourself for a lengthy, painful explanation. The inaccuracy of this description truly grated on your nonexistent nerves, but it was still the most basic way to describe how the timelines worked... you'd just have to explain things better at some point in the future.

"So, think of a tree. The trunk of the tree is the True Alpha Timeline, the original universe that existed and still exists to this day. At several points on the trunk, branches begin to grow away and split apart from branches to sticks, from sticks to twigs, from twigs to blossoms, and from blossoms to fruit. Each branch is a new universal timeline, like this one, and each universe has its own universal timelines growing. The point at which the relevant human-slash-being comes into possession of DETERMINATION magic is at the base of the branch, just a few feet away from the trunk. This is known as their RESET point."

A box was picked up and tossed into a hole to the Void, some broken technology that you'd repurpose at some point when you were bored.

"Now, with each choice the DETERMINED being makes, a new stick grows from the branch, a new timeline born from that decision. Kill, spare. Heads, tails. Laugh, cry. Cinnamon, butterscotch. Every decision creates a new timeline, and out of all these possible timelines, there is an Alpha Timeline. Not the True Alpha Timeline, mind you, just an Alpha Timeline that follows the journey of growth from that universe's branch to the ripest and brightest fruit. This fruit is the end of the old story, and the beginning of a new one. However..."

In went another few boxes, and you began looking for the cooler that usually held astronaut food. Those gross food packages were great for pranks.

"A fruit requires time to grow and ripen. When an apple first grows from a spring blossom, it is small and unhealthy, not ready for consumption. This is as far as the fruit gets to grow, when the DETERMINED being has their final chance to RESET. When the fruit is ripe, it falls, and the power of DETERMINATION usually passes on to the next being. A TRUE RESET in the Alpha Timeline prevents that by cutting off all the timelines at the base of the universe branch. Now all of those possible timelines are erased, fallen to the Void where they can become various kinds of creatures or simply fade away, and the universe itself is left to grow more timelines again. Sometimes the timelines are different, sometimes they're the same, but whatever happened to the old timelines are gone. Do you understand what I am implying?"

Note listened to your explanation, following along rather clearly with the analogies made, and thought it over... After a few moments of considering various possibilities, he settled upon the most obvious one, his voice subdued with sorrowful understanding.

"...the cut off timelines are lost to the void... so doing anything in the first place is more likely to be lost than not..."

He could understand your dismissive attitude now. You didn't want to get attached to these timelines because what you could do wouldn't have any lasting effect, more likely than not. But...

"...what if the fruits finally get the chance to ripen and fall from the tree? what if the current determined being of this branch passes on the power, and you could've helped timelines exist for the better, but you didn't? what if the fruit that falls is rotten because of your inaction?"

You froze in shock, a chill rolling down your spine... That was something you had thought long ago yourself, something you had considered and lived by until you finally couldn't take it anymore and withdrew from interference... What if he was right? What if your past self was right?

"I see your point. Naturally, not every fruit that falls will land in fertile soil and grow a new tree, but a gardener tending to the fruits would have the power to move them to viable ground. I... see your point."

Maybe it was time for you to start doing so again. You could do it, especially with the help of two companions- three if one counted the star soul without a body- and even if you only had Note, you could still do it. Helping universes on the off chance that their branches bore ripe fruit... you could try again. As long as you weren't doing it alone, you could do it.

Just... just until you found your home timeline.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Blur stared at the author in slight horror, having peered over her shoulder for just a quick peek at what was to come. She was now laughing madly in her chair, feeling immense glee at the expression on Blur's skull, and feeling quite pleased with herself for that shocking character development.
> 
> "FEAR ME, BLUR, FEAR THE BEING WHO DICTATES YOUR STORY!"
> 
> Indeed, he felt fear as she commanded it, staring upon the page. As the author handed over the page for him to keep, she whispered something in his earhole, before sauntering away out of sight and leaving him alone. 
> 
> There wasn't anything he could do. This... his life made sense now, and he wished he never knew.
> 
> He wished he never knew.
> 
> * * *
> 
> *Several hours later...
> 
> * * *
> 
> Blur had recovered from the shocking news, and now smiled as though nothing was wrong. Everything had fallen into place, and all he could do now was wait for his cue to action. But, while he waited, he had one question to ask the readers...
> 
> "..̡.̕V͡O̧I͘C͠ES?̵ PL̛EASE, ͜BE H̛ONEST ͢WIŢH ME͝..͡.҉ D͞ON͝'T L̷IȨ ̢T̸O P̕RO̴TECT M͡E.̢.. P̛LEA̸S̴Ę,̛ A̶N̕S͜W͜E͜R̴ HON͜ES͜T̶L͢Y̕...҉"
> 
> Taking a deep, reassuring breath, he looked up with tears in his sockets. His cheerful smile was unchanged, and appeared very strange beneath his leaking sockets.
> 
> "D͟O ͝YOU͏ BE͏LIE̡V̢E ̷T͞HA͢T̵ EV̢EN ̴THĘ W̕O͢RS̴T P̧E̡RSO͠N CA͟N C͡H̶A҉NGE͠.͟.͜. ̴IF THEY ͜J͠UST̨ T̶R͏Y?"


	57. The Moment You've Been Waiting For Arrives

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Partaking in the cycle of mostly worthless garbage fills you with Determination.

After clearing out the Horrortale dump of everything that could be useful, you'd taken Note's hand and returned the two of you to the Void, before withdrawing yourself to act upon your earlier thoughts. If you were going to help properly, you'd need to recover your records and show them to your companions. That way, if you found your home timeline, they could continue your work.

But... what if you could return to a specific timeline at will? Granted, you hadn't been able to learn how to do so, due to not having seen anybody do so in the past. No Sans equivalent you've encountered has been able to jump to specific timelines and universes without assistance from their repurposed machines.

The machine...

You could salvage one, for certain. Genocide Timelines were where you had obtained most of your stuff, as their universe was going to be erased at its conclusion, so they wouldn't be missing anything when it was recreated. You could just go and take a machine from a Genocide Timeline, and then try to repurpose it with your own magic. Stars, why hadn't you thought of this sooner!?

Oh wait, you had. The machine had been too badly damaged to fix, and you had never gotten around to acquiring another one...

However, there were higher priorities at this time. Records, records, you needed to collect all your records and organize them neatly for Note and Blur to read. They shouldn't have much trouble as long as they worked together- Blur could make up for Note's limited sight by reading aloud, and Note could start training his underdeveloped magic while listening. This would leave you free to acquire and work on a machine, perhaps create some portable device to keep yourself and the others connected to it at all times...

Humming a soft melody as you moved, you amassed a pile of various records to begin sorting. Some records you set aside were on the terminology you used in the others, and there was no point in reading the others if one couldn't understand them beforehand. Thus, they were the optimal starting point, and you were fairly certain that your companions would catch on quickly.

"Alright you two, I have obtained some of my files for you to read. First up are some words and phrases I use in other records, and following them are some important figures in various universes. The latter will need to be updated due to recent adventures, but these shall suffice for now."

You handed the folders over to Blur and Note, who were seated on the couch, watching Paperjam's star soul get a drop of black ink upon it every so often, the ink originating from a fish tank and going through several chemistry tubes until finally landing. That new setup must've been Blur's doing- wait...

Oh. That black ink was Ink's excitement vomit. 

...hopefully it was water-based. 

"Well... while you read up on my notes of the Multiverse, I'll go look for some more ink. Any colors you want in particular, Paperjam?"

The soul flickered four letters in response, and you nodded, recognizing the color scheme he was indicating as one used commonly in human printer ink.

"Let's hope the next universe is lucky. Farewell you three, I'll return... in some while."

Time was weird in the Void. It was best to use imprecise measurements while here.

Turning to leave the two skeletons and one soul to their own actions, you _pulled_ through a shortcut and into a new universe. An initial inspection of your surroundings- dusty ground, dull lighting, red and black clothing- told you that this was a Fell variant of some sort. You'd stepped out and landed in front of the Librarby, and after watching the human hesitantly skitter by like a rabbit in a crowd of wolves, you decided to head to the dump.

Wow, visiting the dump twice in one chapter. That was totally not because the author didn't know any other place Underground for getting random shit. _Totally_.

A snap of gloved phalanges, and you were no longer in Snowdin, but standing in ankle-deep water in between two waterfalls. The waterfall to your left flowed downwards from a river on the Surface, and the waterfall to your right carried the trash along into a bottomless abyss- yes, it was surely bottomless; you'd tried to reach the bottom before. Keyword being: tried.

Partaking in the cycle of mostly worthless garbage filled you with Determination.

Humming a simple tune as you splashed lightly through the water, you made your way into the next room, where the majority of trash was stored. As you did so, a sudden spike of instinct had you diving behind a nearby pile... just in time to avoid a slew of blue strings.

Yep. Error had found you again, and upon first glance, it seemed like he wanted to fight. Upon second glance however, you noticed that the strings were aimed in a way that would've restrained you, had they made contact. How very interesting.

"Hello. Do you know where I could obtain some water-based ink? Preferably in the CMYK color scheme?"

He stared at you for a few moments, the strings going slack between his fingers. You took this as a sign to continue, brushing off the surface of your cloak as you stood up and came out from cover.

"I've been given charge of an odd being that requires ink to reform their body. They asked for those colors, but I get the feeling that any color would do if there was enough energy available. Oh, and if it's not too much to ask... could I borrow a few of your strings?"

The strings were cut off at his fingertips, and fell into the water for you to collect. Of course he couldn't just hand them to you like an actually considerate being... but still. He was being surprisingly cooperative. What had changed between now and the last time you'd seen him?

".̢̨.̢͝.͜y͘͠o̸͟u̢͠ ͏e͏̸͜sc̢͟a͠p̸e͜ḑ҉̡ ̨t͠he̕ a͜͏n͟t͡i-̵͜v̷oi͡d͘.͜͡"

Picking up one end of each of the severed strings, you nodded, beginning to wrap each string about your hand as though forming a yarn ball.

"q̴̢u̡̧͢ick̸͢͝l̨҉y̕͘.҉̡"

You nodded again, making certain that each string was wrapped separately from the others.

"w̢i̴t̷̢h̨͡ ą̴̸ ̨f̢͡r̸̨į̵e͡n̵̕d͏̢͝ ͟ǫ̧f̴͟ ͢͠m͜i̶̵n̵͟͝e̴.̶͢"

Oh? He considered Blur a friend?

".͢.̷͢.͜͏i̧͝ w̶an͘̕t̕ h͘i̵m̵ ̸̡b̕͢ac͞k̶̢̨.

After bundling up the magic strings, you opened a hole to the Void and dropped them in, aiming for the tank that Paperjam was being kept in. The strings appeared identical to those wrapped around his soul, and perhaps more would make it easier to reform his body. You didn't know this for certain, of course, but you hoped that it could help.

"Well, I'm not certain if he wants to see you. You left him alone for quite some time in that place... not really the best thing for keeping friendships together."

The glitched skeleton clenched his fists within his pockets. It was a subtle movement, but accompanied by the obvious discomfort he was experiencing in this situation, it was noticeable. He was holding himself back...

How very, _very_ interesting.

"h̢͡e̶̢͢ ̵̨w̷̷͝a̛s͞ mąn̢ip̴͟͠ų̛͘la̵̸͜t̸͘in̵̶̢g̕ m̷e͞.̴ ̡į͜͜ ̸pu͡ni̸̛s̨h͘҉ed͟ h͠i͡m̶ ͘f͜҉o̴̧͜r̶̡̕ ͢͠i̕͠t͘͡.̨͘"

Well, that made sense, from what you knew of the two. Error didn't seem like the type to get close to others easily, and Swap Sanses did have a certain manipulative quality to their actions, despite those actions being intended for good. Discovering such a thing would feel quite like a betrayal.

"So he betrayed you... and you still wish to be friends with him. Why?"

Even stiffer. Uncomfortable at your ease. That was easy to follow- he didn't know you that well, and you were acting as though you didn't fear him. Being a 'destroyer of worlds', as he'd claimed some time ago, it made sense that he'd be feared instead of simply spoken to. Maybe that was why he liked Blur- Papyrus equivalents were generally talkative in such a non-judgemental way.

"..̡͡.̨͠͝i͢͏͢ ͡w̷͘a͏s ̢g̶ǫ͠in̸̨͢g̕ ̶to ͠g҉̷̧o̸͠ ͏ba͏c̷͡k̷͟ a͢f̛t̶e͡r̶͟ i̵͜͞ w̴asn̛'̸̕t̢̕ ̴a̡̛n҉͠͡g͢r̷͜y͏̴͟ ͏̡̡a͟͠n͘y̧̨m҉o̡͢r҉e.͏͞"

Well, that didn't quite answer the question, but it would suffice. He hadn't made any further movement to attack you, and he seemed to have retained some good sense from the last time you'd encountered him. Maybe, he was improving? If that was the case, you needed to figure out the cause. Blur alone couldn't be such a thing.

...although, Error _did_ seem to be quite illogical. It would probably be better if you didn't try to puzzle out his motives just yet. Not until you had more information.

"I'll ask him if he wants to see you. In the next universe I visit, if he's with me, then he agreed to see you. Is that acceptable?"

He clenched his fists tighter... but soon relaxed, and stomped away without another word. As the energy from his shortcut dissipated, you blinked your sockets beneath your hood, and shrugged.

"I'll assume that's a yes. Now then, back to acquiring ink..."

Your turned back to the nearby trash piles and began rummaging through, occasionally opening up broken printers and searching within, utterly unaware of an eavesdropper vanishing with a snap of his phalanges.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alrighty guys, it's time for another vote! Pick a number from 1-10 to decide your fate =)


	58. But Here Comes the Bad News

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry guys I had no idea yesterday was Wednesday ;-;

"Blur, are you certain you wish to do this?"

After returning to the Void and seeing the setup Blur had made with your lab equipment, you'd decided to hand over the ink you'd found to him, so he could continue organizing Paperjam's recovery the way he wanted to. Note simply sat nearby, trying to read the records you'd left behind without any help, but it didn't seem like he was having much luck... Seeing that, you'd decided to move on and ask Blur about seeing Error.

"Y͟ES̸! I̶.͢.. ̢I̵ ̕W͝AN̡T̴ED͝ T̨O̶ ASK ̷Y̧O͢U̢ ͏F͡OR ̨H̴E̸L̴P͡ WI̡T̶H T͟HAT ̛AC̨T̛UAĻLY.̷ ͝A͏FTER͏ H҉E͟ARING ̶SOME͝ O͘F̢ THE͝ ̧C̷O͠MMENT̡S ͟F͝R͡O͜M͢ ͝THE̸ VOI̧CE͡S̨,̕ ͠IT҉ SE͏EMS L̸IKE ̕A G̡OOD͏ TIM̨E͝ T͏O ̴TR̸Y ͝HE̴LPI͡NG͝ H̸I҉M.̷..͜"

He'd agreed immediately.

"I see. Well, they have good timing- we encountered each other in the last universe, and he only attacked once before talking. A marked improvement over our previous encounters, both of which Note witnessed."

At the sound of his nickname, Note turned his attention away from the papers and towards the conversation at hand. He seemed to have learned a good deal, if the slightly confused yet comprehending expression on his face told you anything.

"...error is the one who attacked us with those strings in mobtale and aftertale, right? what happened to the other one?"

That... was a good question. You weren't quite sure how Fresh' powers worked, but he seemed to be limited in his travel, unless he was simply using Error's shortcut for the sake of convenience. He did appear alone in SwapFell that one time, however, so it was likely that he had some method of his own...

"I haven't seen him anywhere since the Anti-Void. We should probably be prepared for anything, just in case Error has decided to attempt trickery... my intuition is telling me that something heavy is going to occur."

Your first companion didn't seem to pleased by the uncertainty in your aura, and stood up, walking around the couch to stand beside you.

"i'm coming with you two... just in case..."

The protective intent radiating from Note's aura surprised you. Had he truly gotten so attached already? It was... touching.

You glanced about the room, taking in the intricate setup around Paperjam and deciding that the sleeping soul would be alright alone for awhile. Thus, without many reservations- _they needed to learn how to defend themselves, you couldn't protect them forever_ \- you nodded in agreement, and held out a hand each to Blur and Note.

"I suppose that's it then. Ready to travel when you are, dear companions. Dum vivimus vivamus."

Note accepted your hand and sort of linked his arm with yours, something that would seem odd if someone else had done so, but something that suited him quite well. Blur, on the other hand- haha- simply grabbed your hand and opened up a shortcut once he'd seen that you and Note were ready. Eager to show off his new skills, perhaps? The shortcut was quite impressively executed, although you expected nothing less from a Blueberry.

Looking around the new environment, you smiled beneath your hood, your eyelights shifting to four-pointed stars at the sight they registered. 

Outertale. An empty Outertale, probably a Post-Pacifist Timeline where the blossom was in bloom, but a beautiful Outertale nonetheless. It was a shame that Note couldn't see this beauty... or could he?

The grip of your companion had slackened slightly, and when you glanced over at him, you saw that his eyesockets were glowing rather brightly. Perhaps the stars emitted the right sort of energy to be seen... it made sense, what with monsters... _possibly_ turning into stars upon their deaths here.

You decided not to tell him that theory just yet, uncertain if it was true, and not wanting to ruin the look of wonder upon his skull.

Blur had a similar expression upon his own skull, his smile wide and his eyelights shining. This was a poetic universe to encounter Error in, he knew, due to certain windows the glitched skeleton had opened for him in the Anti-Void. Maybe while he was teaching Error to be a better person, he could learn how to open windows without the illusion magic you'd demonstrated was necessary!

He didn't want to rely on you too much. From what he'd seen, you already had enough metaphorical tacos on your plate. Even though there is no such thing as too many tacos for the Magnificent Sans, others don't have quite the same digestive fortitude.

Releasing your hand, your partially glitched companion wandered off to the side, taking a seat on a nearby rock to wait for Error. You knew that he would be watching for your next arrival in a universe- this specific arrival- so he would probably arrive soon. All the three of you had to do was wait...

Wait a second. 

This was the first time all three of you had gone to a universe together.

THIS WAS A MOMENTOUS OCCASION.

"While we wait for Error, do the two of you wish to explore this universe? It seems to be safe enough, with the monsters relocated and all, so I could go ahead and show you the similarities and differences between this universe and your originals."

Barely looking away from the stars, Blur nodded, and Note soon followed after with a small smile. Perfect!

"Alrighty then! Right this way gentlemen, we're currently in the equivalent of New Home, and we've got some way to go to reach the beginning."

It was a happy experience, watching Blur run about to inspect everything with the speed of his namesake. Note was occasionally pulled here and there by him, given odd objects to feel and give an opinion on, before Blur led him back to you and ran off again. A bonebrow was almost constantly risen in the face of this enthusiasm, but you couldn't find it in you to tell him to slow down. He deserved this after what he'd experienced thus far, with what he was still going to face.  
Sometimes it's the little things that matter the most.

As the three of you reached Snowdin, you noticed the interest of your two companions increase slightly. Note's interest was subtle, a lingering presence around the equivalent of his old home... meanwhile, Blur's was completely obvious, as he simply kicked the front door open and giggled at the darkened home.

"NO̢T͜E҉! ͞AR͡ISTA͝!҉ ̴LET̡'S S̕E̵Ȩ ̸WHAT O̶UR͏ OTHER̵ ҉SELVE͜S LIV̨ED҉ ͘LI҉KE!"

You chuckled at his enthusiasm, and waved for him to go ahead, soon following after when he disappeared into the darkness. It wasn't like the monsters were going to return here, so you might as well make the best of it. Maybe this Sans had left his machine behind?

Eh, probably not. It would be better if you didn't risk interfering with the timeline by taking it at this point, anyways.  
Standing outside the house with Note, you took a moment to appreciate the eerie peace of this place, this world left behind in the silence of space. If not for the presence of your companions and yourself, it would probably have remained undisturbed until the next RESET, and once you left, it would likely resume that path. There was just a special feel about abandoned locations such as this...

"arista... do you sense that?"

Pausing in your thoughts, you turned your attention back to the real world and your soft-spoken companion, stretching out your senses to try and detect what he had. Unfortunately, nothing seemed to pop out, and you told him so.

"No. What is it you are referring to?"

A long silence ensued, and in that pause, you could feel Note stretching his own senses further beyond yours. They returned shortly, and he finally explained himself in a single, succinct question.

"...shouldn't blur be right in there?"

Your companion was right. Blur's was a presence that couldn't be easily ignored, and if he wasn't there, then you'd know it as surely as you'd know he was. 

Feeling an abrupt sense of urgency, you stepped forward into the darkness, releasing Note's hand outside the house without verbal explanation. He understood anyways, remaining outside to keep watch, his senses stretched out in a thick pattern that couldn't be easily deceived. Something sneaky was amiss, interrupting the earlier happiness of casual exploration, and you couldn't help but wonder if the monsters of this universe weren't here for a different reason...

The darkness grew darker as your eyelights lit a path towards the stairs, and movement registered amongst the edges of shadow and light. The way the shadows danced made it seem as though the Void was involved in this, perhaps a malicious fragment of Gaster acting out, or a different sort of dark creature set loose upon the Multiverse... but experience told you otherwise. Acts of the Void were much darker than this cheap imitation- somebody was deliberately attempting to misguide your assumptions, and this somebody probably had Blur.

Increasing the glow of your eyelights, the room brightened up considerably, and you stepped towards the stairs once more. The darkest shadows were there, past the kitchen, and whoever had taken Blur was probably... right...

_Behind you..._

As you whirled around to the presence behind you, something heavy collided with the base of your skull, and your eyelights fizzled out with the blow. Someone had attacked you, a strangely shaped being that refused to be defined by your weakening vision. Another blow crushed your left humerus to your ribcage, a blow you hadn't even seen coming. Instinctively, you put up a shield similar to the one you'd used in Aftertale, but it sputtered and dropped after a few seconds.

How? How did they know to disrupt your magic frequency? Who was this person, that they had ambushed you so perfectly? They had to know you, but nobody alive knew your weaknesses. The last person who had discovered them was dead by your hands, additional LOVE tainting your soul from self-defense... but the RESETs could've brought him back, and he would've had ten timelines to record them somewhere, according to the recent knowledge you'd acquired.

Somehow, someway, someone had discovered the greatest flaw to your design and exploited it in a single blow. You needed to find out who they were and how they'd done it, if you survived this, but a concerned strand of energy reminded you of your priorities. 

Protect first, counterattack later.

In the end, the best you could do was send out a pulse of warning intent towards your companion outside, and hope that Note got the message to run. Whoever this person was, you wouldn't let them take both of your companions, even if it meant the cost of yourself... you'd be back the next time the universe RESET, anyways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. A cliffhanger. And I'm very sad to say, that either this story is going on hiatus, or it's ending here for a break between this and the next one. I've hit a pretty big block on creativity for this story, sadly. So I need y'all to do one more vote while I try to recuperate:
> 
> Hiatus on this story, or a break between this and the next?


	59. In Fear And Guilt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Let's check in with Note, shall we?

_"papyrus!"_

_He stumbled through the patella-high snow of Snowdin, so high because of the blizzard that'd swept through as the magic state of monsterkind grew more panicked. His footsteps were muffled in the snow as he ran blindly along his brother's patrol route, searching desperately for his brother. It'd been hours..._

_"papyrus, please!"_

_The town was eerily silent. Sound and music had slowly gone away when the human came out to play... not even Grillby was still around. All the citizens had firmly locked their doors or evacuated, and with everyone gone, leaving him all alone, trudging through the snow was even more difficult._

_It was so empty, so cold, so lifeless..._

_"...p-paps?"_

_Fabric met his phalanges, and familiar magic connected to his own with a faint hum. Frantically inspecting the article, he found what he was looking for, and magic tears welled up upon the edges of his sightless sockets. The gritty texture of dust against his bones... his brother's dust upon the scarf... why?_

_Why did it have to be him!? Papyrus was the best brother he could ever have asked for, so optimistic and cheerful, so passionate and eager to learn how to play more instruments than what had already been learned. Papyrus kept him from falling into despair, including him in everything. It... why?_

_He was a coward._

_He'd stayed hidden in the house after his brother told him to go home._

_He'd left the tall skeleton out in danger._

_This had to be his punishment, right? Bravery wasn't one of his traits, but he had others; helpful traits, like Patience and Kindness and Integrity. He was the balance for his brother's soul, which was Brave and Kind and Justified, and he hadn't been out there to help... so this was his punishment._

_"paps... paps... i'm sorry... i'll..."_

_Phosphorescent tears of blue stained the deep, white snow, as the skeleton now sans a brother wrapped the scarf of the fallen around his own vertebrae. He'd failed his brother, but there were still other monsters within the Underground. With that human running around, the road was dangerous, but he was disposable. A blind monster with underdeveloped magic, the most he could do was run, run to warn the King of the murderous human._

_"i'm sorry... i'll see you soon..."_

_He did not have Bravery, but for his brother, be would try to be Brave. In the face of danger, he would try to continue forth as his brother would've. For the one he had failed, he would try to do better. This, Note promised..._

* * *

Hours passed, and with nothing of note occurring- heh- Note decided that it was time to leave his hiding spot.

"...arista?"

He'd run. Like the coward he was, he'd fled at the warning pulse from within the house, leaving the female skeleton behind to face whatever threat was there alone. It was what you'd wanted, true, but was it what you needed? Stars, what if you'd died because he fled!? And he had been the one saying to help people just a few universes earlier...

_Dirty hypocrite._

Taking a deep breath, Note tried to calm himself down, beginning to focus upon his surroundings. This universe was different, yes, but it still had a similar layout to his own. As long as he hadn't gone far, he would be able to find his way back to the house of his alternates, and find out what happened to you.

The first step was finding the main path. Once he found the main path, he'd be okay. It was fortunate that he knew his brother's patrol route like the back of his hand...

...heh.

Dark thoughts kept Note company, reminding him of why he didn't like to make promises. Somehow, someway, they ended up broken, and he was the only one to remember them. Promises broken, his failures laid out with enough mental volume to take up a bookshelf... Note wasn't in the best state of mind.

"i promised myself that i'd be more brave..."

The snow crunched beneath his sneaker-clad feet, much lighter than it'd been back then. There was no blizzard to hinder his progress, no high piles of snow left behind to chill his bones. His path was clear and easy to walk... and it led him back to the house sooner than he was mentally prepared for.

"...arista?"

A low source of energy was nearby, a thick fog of said energy drifting across the floor. His glassy sockets flared brighter in response, and he focused on the... indigo and red magic. Arista, you. You were still here, still alive, but with that much magic left uncontrolled and loose? You were close to death.

Without any time to lose, Note moved through the oddly casted energy and to its source, kneeling down beside your unconscious form once he found it. Such a large amount of magic being lost usually occurred in head wounds for skeletons, as their skulls contained a large portion of their magic that was overmatched only by their souls, and like human head wounds, they 'bled' quickly. He had to find the source of the leak...

Oh stars. There was a large crack upon the base of your skull, running down to the back of your cervical vertebrae, just barely contained. As he shifted your unconscious form over onto your front side, his sockets burned brighter, allowing him to 'see' the damage better... He needed to return your magic before he tried to heal the wound.

"okay... okay... stars, how do i heal this?"

Casting out a net-like pattern of his own magic, Note attempted to collect the drifting energy before it strayed too far, guiding it back towards your soul. He was working on instinct, his mind a thousand universes away as he thought back to the days when... when... when he knew more relevant information.

He couldn't recall those days perfectly, but that was fine.

Green magic flowed from his phalanges as he focused on the wound. The large amount of loose magic helped him quite a bit- while he was better than most Sanses at healing, he still wasn't the best- and he used a fair amount of it to encourage your skull to stitch itself back together. What wasn't returned to your soul was used to heal you, until there was none left to draw from, but your wound still wasn't fully healed.

"...this will only keep leaking if i stop here... i have to get her back to the void..."

Shortcuts. Note had never been good with shortcuts, but after observing Blur take so many while you were away?  
He wasn't confident. But he could still try.

"heh... only facing an explosion with the force of an atomic bomb if i fail..."

Taking hold of his underdeveloped magic, Note focused upon the song of his own soul, taking a thread of magic and winding it up in a tight, hollow sphere of energy before him. The pull of reality upon him increased, his magic connected to that point of space, and he took a deep breath to calm his nerves...

Finally, with a stab of energy, the sphere imploded, taking himself and the female skeleton in his arms out of this universe. The Void would prevent the wound from getting worse, and there was monster food there to restore his own energy. In that timeless place, he had all the time he needed to heal you...

It was his fault you were injured like this, anyways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Guess who's back, back, back,_   
>  _Back again, gain, gain,_   
>  _Shady's back, back, back,_   
>  _Tel a friend, friend, friend~_
> 
>  
> 
> So I'm coming back around to this story! It won't be updating as rapidly as it was before (honestly I'm not sure how exactly I wrote that much in so little time), but it is officially out of hiatus!

**Author's Note:**

> So, feel free to leave comments on what could improve the story! Tell me everything- I'm looking forward to seeing what y'all have to say!~
> 
> I also have a tumblr in case you're interested~ [UltimateGamer101](https://ultimategamer101.tumblr.com).


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